Sojitz Holdings Corp. will chalk up valuation losses of around 16 billion yen ($154 million) resulting from commodity futures transactions by its energy and metals division, the struggling trading house said Wednesday.

The figure is based on current market prices, and the company plans to revise its earnings forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31 after the exact size of the losses is determined.

Sojitz President Hidetoshi Nishimura indicated the same day that the firm will launch an investigation and penalize those responsible for the possible fraud that led to the huge loss.

"There is a possibility of a grave violation of rules within our internal risk management structure," Nishimura said.

The firm plans to set up on Thursday an investigation committee chaired by an independent attorney.

Sojitz is expected to post a consolidated net loss of 380 billion yen (US$3.7 billion) for this fiscal year, partly on its withdrawal from unprofitable operations.

Last October, the company received a total of 370 billion yen in financial assistance from such banks as UFJ Holdings Inc. unit UFJ Bank to accelerate its restructuring efforts.