WANdisco continues to take heat as UK regulator investigates fraud

(Alliance News) - WANdisco PLC on Thursday said the UK Financial Conduct Authority has begun an ...

Alliance News 20 April, 2023 | 8:43AM
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(Alliance News) - WANdisco PLC on Thursday said the UK Financial Conduct Authority has begun an investigation into the data activation company.

The investigation relates to regulatory announcements released by WANdisco during the period January 1, 2022 to March 9, 2023 which may have materially misstated the company's financial position, the company said.

"The board is co-operating with the FCA in this endeavour, in addition to continuing to support the completion of the independent investigation already being undertaken by FRP Advisory," WANdisco said.

It is not the first time that WANdisco's financial releases have made headlines this year.

In March, WANdisco suspended trading in its shares after uncovering signs of possible "sophisticated" fraudulent activity, just days after the company had announced it was exploring a potential US listing. As a result, WANdisco opened an independent investigation.

At the time, WANdisco said the irregularities would "significantly impact" its cash position and lead to "material uncertainty" regarding its overall financial position.

Earlier this month, the company said the investigation so far had confirmed that both the purchase orders giving rise to revenue of USD14.9 million and sales bookings of USD115.5 million recorded for 2022 were false.

Accordingly, it said 2022 revenue should have been USD9.7 million and not USD24 million as previously reported. Bookings should have been USD11.4 million, instead of USD127 million.

"The results of the independent investigation to date continue to support the initial view that the irregularities are as a result of the actions of one senior sales employee," WANdisco said at the start of April.

At that time, the company also announced that Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer David Richards and Chief Financial Officer Erik Miller had stepped down. WANdisco assured investors that the board changes were not connected to the findings.

WANdisco shares have been suspended from trading in London since the end of March.

By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter

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