FTSE 100 gold miner sacks boss over $5.9m ‘irregular payment’

The boss of FTSE 100 mining giant Endeavour has been sacked after after the firm uncovered “serious misconduct” following an investigation into an “irregular payment” of $5.9m.

Endeavour’s shares have cratered more than 10 per cent this morning.

The gold mining firm announced last night that chief executive Sébastien de Montessus, one of the FTSE 100 highest paid chief executives who pocketed $10m last year, has been dismissed with “immediate effect” after a probe into a payment instruction he issued over an asset disposal undertaken by the company.

The company, which is also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, became aware of the misconduct following a review of acquisitions and disposals, which it said is ongoing.

The firm also said that separate allegations had been made against de Montessus via the company’s whistleblowing channel in October “relating to his personal conduct with colleagues”.

Bosses at Endeavour said the board has received the findings of an external investigation into this matter and was now “considering the appropriate course of action” following his dismissal today.

De Montessus has hit back at the process today and said he was given 48 hours notice of the of the concerns and “no proper opportunity to answer them”, he told the Financial Times. He is reportedly taking his time to consider his position with his advisers.

He reportedly admitted a “lapse in judgement” for instructing a creditor in 2021 to offset a payment owed to Endeavour for security equipment to protect its staff in a conflict zone. However, he said that “the decision had no additional cost to the company and did not benefit me personally in any way”, the Financial Times reported.

The board has appointed Ian Cockerill, who is currently the deputy chair of the board, as the firm’s new chief executive officer with immediate effect.

The impact the termination on de Montessus’s remuneration would be disclosed “in due course”, the firm added. He was the eighth highest paid FTSE 100 CEO in 2022.