Vince McMahon’s off-the-books personal payments that he made while chairman and CEO of WWE were higher than previously reported, the company said.
Last month, the wrestling entertainment company announced that it would revise its financial statements going back to 2019 to account for $14.6 million of “certain payments” that McMahon made while chairman and CEO should have been recorded as expenses. That was three days after McMahon said he was retiring from WWE, which he announced amid an ongoing investigation into allegations that he paid millions of dollars in hush money to multiple women to keep quiet about affairs and other misconduct.
In an SEC filing Tuesday, WWE disclosed that since the July 25 announcement, it had discovered that McMahon made two additional payments totaling $5 million — unrelated to the allegations that led to the board’s special committee investigation — in 2007 and 2009, which also should have been recorded in the company’s consolidated financial statements. WWE did not provide details on what McMahon’s $5 million in payments were for.
WWE had previously aimed to issue the revised financial statements accounting for McMahon’s personal payments by Aug. 9, but said the information that had come to light about the additional $5 million he paid made that infeasible.
WWE said the board’s special committee investigation into McMahon’s alleged misconduct remains ongoing. Last month, the company disclosed that it had received “regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas [and] demands” in connection with the ex-CEO’s alleged misconduct.
McMahon remains a stockholder with a controlling interest in WWE. Following his resignation, WWE named Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-CEOs. Stephanie McMahon, who is Vince’s daughter, was appointed chairwoman of the board, and Khan will continue to serve as a board member.
Source: Variety
