TWO FORMER Wandisco executives have been asked to hand back nearly £650,000 in bonuses they received before the software company became embroiled in an accounting scandal earlier this year.

Wandisco's board has written to both David Richards, the firm's co-founder and former boss, and Erik Miller, the ex-finance chief, demanding they return their last bonus payments worth a total of $832,000 (£647,000).

Richards and Miller both stepped down in April after an internal investigation found that $115m in sales were completely made up. Their departures were not connected to the investigation.

"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 FY 2022 are returned," Wandisco said.

It asked for the payouts back because "it is clear that the bonuses paid are significantly at odds with the realities the company has faced".

City A.M. was unable to reach Richards and Miller for comment.

Wandisco's share price dived 96 per cent on its return to the AIM index on Tuesday last week, after being suspended back in March.

The next day, Wandisco announced that interim boss and former Sage Group chief Stephen Kelly will stay on as the firm's chief executive.

Before shares were suspended, it was valued at around £880m. Its market value has dropped to £103m.

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper