Elmer Funke Kupper is out as head of the Australian Securities Exchange. He resigned following allegations that betting firm Tabcorp tried to bribe its way to a Cambodian gaming license during Funke Kupper’s tenure as CEO.
ASX Chairman Rick Holliday-Smith released a statement saying Funke Kupper wants to “direct his full focus to the investigations which may be made.” Holliday- Smith will act as executive chairman while ASX looks for Funke Kupper’s replacement.
According to Bloomberg News, Funke Kupper led Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. from 2007 to 2011 before joining ASX. In 2009, the company allegedly paid $200,000 to a consulting company associated with a sister of powerful Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The reported transaction took place when Tabcorp was looking to expand into Asian sports betting. The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Hun Sen and members of his family have “a huge amount of control of the Cambodian economy.”
Funke Kupper has also taken a leave from his post as a Tabcorp director as the investigation unfolds.
“Corporate governance is a big thing, and people need to have faith and trust in the market,” said Nathan Zaia, an analyst at Morningstar Inc., told Bloomberg. “It makes sense for the ASX to let (Funke Kupper) go if that’s what he needed to do.”
In 2015, ASX shares rose 16 percent under Funke Kupper, who “helped lead its biggest technology upgrade in more than a decade,” the news outlet reported. “That compares with a 2.1 percent decline on Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index.”
“The biggest challenge for his successor is whether ASX will remain an independent exchange given the competition it faces,” said Tony Farnham of Patersons Securities Ltd.
The Australian Federal Police have joined the investigation, reported SBC News. Meanwhile, Funke Kupper said he is innocent, and claimed he is the victim of a “trial by media.”
