Former WANdisco executives face demand to return six-figure bonuses

Two former executives of WANdisco, the Sheffield-headquartered big data firm hit by a multi-million pound fraud, are facing demands from the business to repay nearly £650,000 in bonuses awarded last year.

Sky News reports that WANdisco’s board has written to David Richards, the company’s co-founder and former CEO, and tex-finance chief Erik Miller to request they hand back $832,000 (£647,000).

The annual bonuses, disclosed in WANdisco’s recently issued annual report, took the pay packages of Richards and Miller to $1.14m (£886,100) and $551,000 (£428,300) respectively.

WANdisco shareholders saw the value of their holdings plunge since the discovery of millions of pounds worth of false purchase orders made by one of the firm’s senior sales employees.

The company’s shares were suspended from trading and the board brought in Stephen Kelly – former chief executive of Sage Group – as interim boss.

Earlier this month, the business secured $30m (£23.3m) in new funding to rescue its operation and trading of its shares resumed on 25 July.

A WANdisco spokesman told Sky News: “In line with shareholder sentiment, and as simply the right thing to do, the Board of WANdisco confirms that it has written to former executives of the company requesting that bonuses paid for [the last financial year] are returned.

“It is clear that the bonuses paid are significantly at odds with the realities the company has faced.”