BP confirms former CEO misled the board about past relationships, resulting in the forfeiture of his compensation.

Bernard Looney, the former CEO of BP, has been stripped of a £32.4 million payout after the company concluded that he had engaged in “serious misconduct.” The oil giant announced that Looney had failed to be fully transparent regarding past relationships with colleagues, which he had not fully disclosed to the company’s board.

BP’s investigation found that assurances Looney had provided in 2022 about his personal relationships were “inaccurate and incomplete.” As a result, the board determined that he had deliberately misled them. In a statement on Wednesday, BP confirmed that, due to this misconduct, Looney’s salary, bonuses, pension benefits, and share options worth £32.4 million would be forfeited.

The forfeited compensation includes nearly £25 million in unvested performance-linked share awards, as well as salary, benefits, and an annual bonus for the 2023 financial year. BP also revealed it would be reclaiming part of the cash already paid to Looney, including 50% of his 2022 cash bonus, citing the breach of trust.

Since Looney’s resignation in September, BP has been operating without a permanent CEO, with Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss stepping in as interim leader while the company searches for a new chief executive.