#Kuwait Fund Sues London Boss Who ‘Blew’ Budget on Bonuses - Bloomberg

Kuwait Fund Sues London Boss Who ‘Blew’ Budget on Bonuses - Bloomberg:

Kuwait Investment Authority, the fourth-largest sovereign wealth fund, is caught up in a legal dispute with former managers at its U.K. office over accusations of inflated bonuses.

The fund alleges that Simon Hard, who oversaw fixed income at its London branch, and two other managers “blew the whole budget” by raising salaries and bonuses while a senior executive was away. It’s filed a claim for more than 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) in damages. Hard denies the allegations and said he was victimized and faced age discrimination.

The case, which was reported earlier by the Financial Times, was heard at a London court Monday. The Kuwait fund was ordered to postpone its damages claim until a separate lawsuit brought by Hard takes place at the employment tribunal. The fund has asserted diplomatic immunity in the employment case. 


Adam Solomon, an attorney for the fund, said it was alerted in the middle of last year to the alleged misconduct by the country’s State Audit Bureau, which raised “serious concerns” about the pay increases in London. It discovered that Hard and two other managers hid a hike in bonuses of more than 50,000 pounds, the fund said in a March legal filing.