Looney fined £32,426,000 13/12/2023

 

Former BP boss Bernard Looney forfeits £32m after ‘serious misconduct’

The former chief executive of BP, Bernard Looney, is to lose up to £32m in pay after the oil giant concluded that he had commited “serious misconduct”.

In September Mr Looney resigned from BP after it emerged he had failed to fully disclose previous relationships with colleagues.

The company today said that, in 2022, it had “sought assurances regarding disclosure of his past personal relationships with Company colleagues and his future behaviour” and that these were given.

BP said:

Following careful consideration, the board has concluded that, in providing inaccurate and incomplete assurances in July 2022, Mr Looney knowingly misled the board. The board has determined that this amounts to serious misconduct, and as such Mr Looney has been dismissed without notice effective on 13 December 2023. This decision had the effect of bringing Mr Looney’s 12 month notice period to an immediate end.

The company said that Mr Looney would receive no further salary or pension allowance or benefits from today. In addition, share awards and bonuses since 2021 that are unvested (that is, set aside but not paid until certain conditions are met) would “lapse”.

BP added that:

The total maximum value of the potential remuneration that has been forfeited or clawed back is £32,426,000.

87pc of this value is automatically forfeited as a result of Mr Looney’s resignation with immediate effect on 12 September 2023. 10pc results from the board’s decision that he should be dismissed following serious misconduct and the further 3pc has been clawed back at the discretion of the board.

Mr Looney has been contacted for comment