Former IRMSA director of South African tech company fined R500,000 over fake PhD

The Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA) says it is discussing the JSE’s censure and R500,000 fine of former EOH (now iOCO) director Anushka Bogdanov.

iOCO announced on Friday that…

iOCO announced on Friday that the JSE had penalized Bogdanov for falsely claiming to have a PhD in International Financial Management and Mathematics from the London Business School.

The penalties included public censure, a fine, and immediate disqualification from holding the office of a director or officer of a company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) for ten years.

IRMSA said that Bogdanov was a director of one of its partners with which it has a Memorandum of Understanding.

“The professional body has convened a meeting of its Social and Ethics Committee to thoroughly debate the matter, including but not limited to the findings communicated by the JSE,” IRMSA said.

The organization said the debate’s outcome…

The organization said the debate’s outcome would be shared with relevant parties before any next steps are made public.

“Past public statements about the partner’s involvement with IRMSA activities will therefore remain published as is until the outcome of the process is decided,” it said.

iOCO said that Bogdanov was appointed as an independent non-executive director of EOH on 20 June 2019 and served as chairperson of the Social and Ethics Committee.

She was also a member of the Governance and Risk Committee and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

In February 2020, she was appointed lead independent non-executive director. Bogdanov resigned from EOH, effective 28 July 2020.

iOCO said that when Bogdanov was appointed as director of EOH, her curriculum vitae stated that she held a PhD in International Finance obtained from the London Business School in 2007/2008.

It also stated that she lectured MPhil students and supervised PhD finance students at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

In addition, as required by the JSE’s Listings Requirements, she submitted a Director’s Declaration to the JSE wherein she attested to and confirmed that she held the qualification.

False doctorate

EOH later established that Bogdanov’s claim that she had obtained a PhD in International Finance from the London Business School or any other institution was false.

This led to the JSE investigating the matter. iOCO said Bogdanov was afforded numerous opportunities to refute the allegations, make submissions, and provide the JSE with proof of her qualifications.

“The facts and information obtained during the investigation indicated that there were significant discrepancies and irregularities relating to the authenticity of her qualification,” iOCO stated.

These findings were supported by independent verification and objective evidence, which raised serious concerns about the accuracy and reliability of Bogdanov’s claim.

“The JSE initially engaged with Ms. Bogdanov in November 2020 regarding allegations about the authenticity of her PhD qualification,” iOCO said.

“Ms. Bogdanov was further requested to confirm, with supporting documentation, the assertions and confirmation included in her CV and Schedule 13 Director’s Declaration.”

iOCO said the investigation took so long to conclude because Bogdanov repeatedly requested more time to respond to the JSE’s questions.

“Ms. Bogdanov informed the JSE that she was unable to respond as a result of a variety of issues and personal circumstances that prevented her from dealing with this issue in a timely manner,” iOCO said.

IRMSA said it was important…

The company said it was important to give Bogdanov a reasonable opportunity to respond to the JSE’s concerns, mindful of her personal circumstances, before concluding the investigation.

It said the JSE had numerous engagements and communications with Bogdanov over the last five years, affording her ample opportunity to prove her claims.

“Finally, in late 2024, Ms. Bogdanov confirmed and admitted to the JSE that she did not have a PhD degree from the London Business School,” iOCO said.

Accordingly, the JSE found Bogdanov breached its listing requirements and penalized her. Bogdanov could not be reached for comment.

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