MAGGIE PAGANO: Blows on fat cats
- Is bad behavior more common than it was a few years ago?
- Or has the mood changed so much that colleagues will no longer tolerate bad manners?
- We've seen so many recent scandals arise from peer whistleblowers
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The dramatic resignation of Endeavor Mining boss Sebastien de Montessus has the makings of a top-notch thriller, complete with dodgy African mining deals, uranium corruption scandals and money laundering.
Born into the French aristocracy, de Montessus lived part of his life in Niger and Cape Town, studied at France's best schools and then trading at one of the big ecoles, before working as an M&A banker at Morgan Stanley.
After setting up Only For Your Eyes, a mobile internet access company that went bankrupt, he ended up at French nuclear giant Areva.
He was appointed head of mining and subsequently headed uranium mining and enrichment activities until the so-called Uranium Gate scandal broke out.
In 2018, De Montessus was accused of corruption as part of legal proceedings brought against Areva by Niger, one of the world's largest uranium producers.
The dramatic dismissal of Endeavor Mining boss Sebastien de Montessus has all the makings of a first-rate thriller
The legal action was brought against the French giant over an agreement with Namibia in which it bought a stock of uranium from the African country at a discounted price.
This also prompted the French to investigate the business dealings in Areva, looking into money laundering, conspiracy to commit fraud and forgery, leading to the departure of De Montessus and others.
He then headed gold mining company Endeavor and became one of the highest-paid chiefs on the FTSE 100. In 2021, he earned a whopping £18.8 million as a reward for successfully moving the company's main listing from Canada to London.
The indictment against De Montessus, which he denies, states that he issued an “irregular payment instruction” of $5.9 million in connection with one of Endeavor's asset sales.
Endeavor's board also alleges that a whistleblower made allegations about his personal misconduct against colleagues.
He refutes both claims, but acknowledges an 'error of judgement' over the sale to an unnamed creditor of an asset to offset an amount owed to the company for essential security equipment. This was reportedly to protect its partners and employees in an unspecified conflict zone.
BP CEO Bernard Looney had to resign last year
It would be rash to rush to judgment about De Montessus.
What we do know is that mining and commodity trading are among the toughest and most unforgiving markets in the world to operate in, if not the roughest. This usually means that anyone who chooses to trade in these industries is often the roguish daredevil type with the skin of a rhino, but also razor sharp.
What's almost more intriguing about this story is the allegation of serious personal misconduct, about which we don't have more details. But we can let our imaginations run wild, as alpha male roguish types tend to behave roguishly.
Allegations of personal misconduct are becoming increasingly common at senior corporate levels. Think of the CBI.
The question is whether bad behavior is more common now than it was a few years ago, or whether the mood has changed so much that colleagues no longer tolerate bad manners. It's probably the latter, as we've seen so many recent scandals created by whistleblowing colleagues.
Others who have been exposed over the personal internal relationships include former BP CEO Bernard Looney, who was forced out last year after misleading his board about past relationships with colleagues.
There were also whistles on NBC Universal boss Jeff Shell, who missed out on millions in share prices, and Steve Easterbrook, the British ex-McDonald's chief. The burger boss was forced to pay back £84million in redundancy pay after he was sacked over his relationships with employees.
Bad behavior has a price. The heat is on, and that's not a bad thing.
Buy a house
What planet is Howard Davies on? The NatWest chairman ruined breakfast for millions yesterday after telling Radio 4 it's 'not that difficult to buy a house'.
All you have to do, he said, is save. Real. That's all well and good coming from multi-millionaire Davies, but house prices are at least ten times the average salary in the south-east, where most young people want to live.
Instead of dismissing the problem in his usual condescending manner, Davies should add his voice to the call for more houses to be built. It's not rocket science.