Andrew Forrest cleared of wrongdoing in secret probe
The board of Fortescue Metals conducted a secret review into whether its executive chairman, Andrew Forrest, had a relationship with an employee of the mining giant but cleared him of wrongdoing.
In a statement, Fortescue said the board had engaged law firm Seyfarth Shaw to investigate after becoming “aware of an anonymous letter concerning the behaviour of the executive chairman”.
Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest.
“The investigation concluded that none of the matters in the letter were substantiated. There were no adverse findings,” the statement said, adding that Dr Forrest had excluded himself from the process.
“Seyfarth Shaw were selected as they have demonstrated expertise in investigations of this nature, and are independent, having never previously provided legal representation to Fortescue or Dr Forrest or his associates,” the company said.
“Seyfarth Shaw’s legal fees were not contingent on any particular finding or outcome. Seyfarth Shaw was provided with full access to electronic records, documents, employees, information and to all resources required by them to conduct a forensic review.”
Fortescue, in its statement on Sunday evening, said the company was “committed to strong corporate governance and will continue to investigate any items raised in accordance with our whistleblower policy”.
The investigation was led by Seyfarth Shaw’s local managing partner, Darren Perry. The Financial Review is not suggesting the businessman was in a relationship with an employee, only that the Fortescue board believed the issue was sufficiently important that it launched an investigation into the matter.
The company has not disclosed this to shareholders in the past, and Fortescue said the Seyfarth Shaw report
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