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Billionaire sex saga is latest scandal to hit Aussie CEOs
The Straits Times
|October 25, 2024
String of corporate calamities lays bare issues, including ineffective watchdogs
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SYDNEY - The alleged sex-for-investment scandal that embroiled Australian tech billionaire Richard White is just the latest corporate calamity in a country fast losing its reputation as a tightly regulated market with strict governance standards.
On Oct 24, WiseTech Global announced that Mr White - its co-founder, chief executive officer and also its largest shareholder - will step down after a series of damaging allegations over his relationships with several women wiped more than A$7 billion (S$6.1 billion) from the freight software giant's market value.
Media reports this week had said Mr White paid millions of dollars to a former sexual partner to settle allegations of inappropriate behaviour. The Australian Financial Review (AFR) said Mr White also had a years-long relationship with an employee before gifting her an A$7 million waterfront house in Melbourne. The transaction was not disclosed to the board, according to the report.
This story is from the October 25, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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