CEO Spending Scandal: Settlement Breakdown Looms in High Court

The settlement of a High Court employment dispute in which it was claimed the chief executive (CEO) of a company spent the firm’s money providing homes and jobs for his girlfriends, who had allegedly been screened through illicit websites, may be in danger of breaking down, a judge has been told. Last month, Mr Justice Brian Cregan was told the dispute had been settled and was adjourned a number of times so the settlement agreement could be implemented. On Tuesday, the court was told the company’s principal had signed another version of the settlement, and the situation now appeared to be that it was not now settled. The case was brought by Jennifer O’Carroll, chief operations officer of HansaWorld, a Limerick-based enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software group, who had sought orders lifting her suspension as director and company secretary and to stop alleged interference in her role as COO. As part of her proceedings, Ms O’Carroll had made claims over the manner in which the group’s CEO and majority shareholder, Karl Bohlin, had been running the business and what she considered was his “extravagant personal spending” using company funds. She claimed that since last spring, Mr Bohlin had been primarily concerned with his love life and finding a girlfriend, which he described as his “highest priority”, she said. She claimed Mr Bohlin used company human resources “to screen the girls from various illicit websites for suitability”. Over recent months, she said, he has “insisted on hiring these ladies even if they are not suitable candidates” to positions in the company and insisted on using the firm’s funds to lease houses for them, including one in China and another in Dubai. The claims were denied. The matter was adjourned a number of times after the defendants, HansaWorld Ireland Ltd, HansaWorld Holding Ltd and HansaWorld Inc Ltd, agreed to a number of undertakings including not to take steps to dismiss her. Those undertakings, which also included that the company would not take steps to remove her from her roles as secretary and director of the company, remained in place until the court was told the settlement had been implemented. On Tuesday, Gary McCarthy SC, for Ms O’Carroll, said although a settlement agreement had been drawn up, the principal of the defendants had signed “another version of the agreement” which meant “we are left in a situation where it has not been settled”. Counsel sought an adjournment so that there could be discussions with the defendants’ lawyers about the matter. Michael O’Sullivan BL, for the defendants, asked that the adjournment be short as “it may avail us to keep the pressure on” in circumstances where there had been considerable work done on the settlement. Counsel also said “if what needs to be done is not done”, then his side would have to apply to the court to seek to no longer represent Hansaworld. Mr Justice Cregan, who commented that the situation was unfortunate, adjourned it to Friday.