Federal police investigate WiseTech billionaire Richard White
- Federal authorities are investigating WiseTech Global executive chairman Richard White over human trafficking and visa fraud allegations.
- The ongoing investigation has accelerated a major sell-off in company shares, which have dropped significantly over the past 12 months.
- The probe follows a formal complaint from a former executive alleging the billionaire falsified corporate documents to secure a visa for a former employee.
The Australian Federal Police's human exploitation taskforce is investigating WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) executive chairman Richard White over allegations of human trafficking and providing false information on a visa application.
The current investigation follows a prior civil dispute last year between White and a former employee, which was ultimately resolved through a private settlement without any admission of liability.
"The representations made in the document were false," said former Kyckr CEO Kathy Phelan in her official complaint to federal authorities.
The secondary details of the police report allege that White inappropriately used corporate letterheads from Kyckr, a regulatory compliance firm acquired by his private business RealWise in 2022, to invent a non-existent corporate role for the visa applicant.
The ongoing controversy has intensified existing governance concerns among major institutional investors, who have steadily reduced their holdings in the logistics software provider over the past year.
Following the announcement, the WiseTech share price was down at $36.88.
The software firm previously faced leadership instability when White briefly stepped back from executive duties last year before returning as executive chairman in February.
The company is also managing broader market pressures, including an independent regulatory investigation into executive share trading and a wider software industry downturn.
