BP’s former CEO Bernard Looney ‘deliberately misled the board,’ the company states in a declaration. Now comes the bill for the lies.
Partially, Bernard Looney has, of course, already faced consequences earlier.
The 53-year-old Irishman was forced to leave his CEO position at BP on September 12 after revelations about his relationships with employees came to light.
Entire career at BP
Looney had then worked for BP throughout his professional career, starting in 1991 as a drilling engineer.
In 2006, Looney joined the corporate management and later became the one to navigate BP through the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
He took over as CEO of BP on February 5, 2020, and thus had only 3.5 years in that position.
Now comes the bill
In September, he was dismissed and temporarily replaced by the Chief Financial Officer, Murray Auchincloss.
Now comes the bill for Looney.
‘Mr. Looney deliberately misled the board. The board has determined that this constitutes a serious offense,’ BP said in a statement Wednesday.
Expensive lies
According to Wednesday’s announcement, those lies are costing Looney as much as £ 32 million.
Looney will receive no further salary, pension, or benefits from the day he was dismissed and will not receive any bonus for the fiscal year 2023.
‘I am proud of what I achieved with my colleagues during my time as CEO of BP,’ Looney said stoically in a statement quoted by Bloomberg.
‘I am disappointed with how this situation has been handled. And as I look to the future, I simply wish everyone at BP all the best.’
‘Gross misconduct’
The majority of the £ 32 million Looney loses automatically came due when he left his job, according to the company.
Ten percent of the salary loss is due to the board’s decision to dismiss Looney for gross misconduct.
New variant of ‘half left’
BP will also demand back 50 percent of the bonus paid out for 2022 and a portion of the shares Looney received through a performance plan.
BP continues to search for a permanent successor to Looney.
Meanwhile, analysts speculate that BP could become a target for acquisition in the weakened state the company is in.