Endeavour
Mining
(EDV)
has
sacked
its
chief
executive
for
“serious
misconduct”
with
immediate
effect.
On
Thursday
the
gold
miner
said
the
former
president
and
chief
executive
Sebastien
de
Montessus
was
let
go
following
an
investigation
into
an
irregular
payment
instruction
issued
by
him
in
relation
to
an
asset
disposal
undertaken
by
the
company.
Endeavour,
which
has
assets
in
nations
including
Senegal
and
Burkina
Faso,
is
down
more
than
10%
since
the
news
broke
on
Thursday
afternoon.
The
irregular
payment
instruction
amounted
to
$5.9
million
and
was
discovered
in
the
course
of
an
ongoing
review
of
acquisitions
and
disposals.
de
Montessus
responded
to
the
allegations,
saying
in
2021
he
had
instructed
a
creditor
to
“offset
an
amount
owed
to
the
company
to
pay
for
essential
security
equipment
to
protect
our
partners
and
employees
in
a
conflict
zone”.
This
had
“no
additional
cost
to
the
company”
and
“did
not
benefit
[him]
personally
in
any
way”,
he
maintained.
However,
de
Montessus
conceded
that
omitting
to
inform
the
board
of
the
arrangement
was
“a
lapse
in
judgement”.
Separately,
in
October
2023,
allegations
were
made
against
de
Montessus
through
the
company’s
confidential
whistleblowing
channel
relating
to
his
personal
conduct
with
colleagues.
Following
a
recent
external
investigation,
the
board
had
received
the
findings
and,
at
the
point
of
termination,
said
it
was
considering
the
appropriate
course
of
action.
de
Montessus
added:
“This
week
I
was
given
48
hours’
notice
of
the
concerns
and
no
proper
opportunity
to
answer
them.
As
to
the
other
investigation:
no
misconduct
of
any
kind
was
discovered
because
none
occurred.
I
am
proud
of
what
we
have
built
together
at
Endeavour
over
the
past
8
years.
I
will
take
my
time
to
consider
my
position
with
my
advisers.”
Ian
Cockerill,
currently
deputy
chair,
has
been
appointed
chief
executive
officer
and
executive
director
with
immediate
effect.
Sebastien
de
Montessus
has
led
Endeavour
since
2016,
and
was
reportedly
paid
£8.9
million
in
2022,
below
the
£18.8
million
he
was
handed
in
2021.
The
bumper
pay
package
in
2021
was
a
reward
for
the
company
successfully
shifting
its
primary
listing
from
Canada
to
London.
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