The controlling mind, the ‘cover-up’ and the critical flaw: Fresh claims against Richard White

Controversial WiseTech billionaire Richard White has been accused of turning a blind eye to a “cover-up” to keep serious technical vulnerabilities from a potential purchaser of his anti-money laundering software business Kyckr.

“Mr White … stood to benefit from the removal of individuals unwilling to downplay material risk,” former chief technology officer Rebecca Glover has alleged in a wrongful dismissal claim. Glover also claims there was an “organisational purge” against employees deemed disloyal to White.

Glover and her colleague, Jason Davey, were fired on June 20, a week after Kyckr’s chief executive officer, Kathy Phelan, was sacked. Davey and Glover have launched wrongful dismissal claims with the Fair Work Commission. Phelan is pursuing her own legal claim.

“There was no consultation, no support and no due process,” Davey’s court claim said.

Glover has alleged in court documents that she identified a “critical cybersecurity flaw” which represented “a major breach of technical and regulatory obligations” for the company.

She also claims she raised concerns about a possible product liability risk arising from Kyckr’s verification of UBOs (ultimate beneficial owner), “which was returning inaccurate results to regulated clients” in up to 20 per cent of cases. UBO searches are crucial for preventing financial crime such as money laundering and terrorist financing by identifying the key owners of entities, even if they are owned through a complex web of companies.

Court documents allege that Kyckr chief operations officer Steve Lamb and White were involved in her wrongful dismissal because she objected to concealing issues from a potential purchaser, Sydney-founded anti-money laundering solutions business Encompass Corporation.

In her wrongful dismissal claim, Glover alleges she and Phelan were sacked for refusing “to participate in this cover-up”.

Glover claims White was instrumental in removing Phelan as the sole director and was Kyckr’s “controlling mind”. Glover claims White “was informed of the technical and compliance concerns” she raised, and was in ongoing communication with Lamb, who dismissed her.

“White had knowledge of the internal dynamics following Ms Phelan’s departure and of the impending transaction with Encompass, and stood to benefit from the removal of individuals unwilling to downplay material risk,” the application said.

There is no suggestion that allegations made in the FWC are true, only that they have been made.

Kyckr, in its response to the FWC, rejected the suggestion that performance issues were not raised with Glover.

“The application is nothing more than a collection of baseless assertions that have been contrived post-termination,” Kyckr said in its reply to the claim.

The company asserts she has no right to make an unfair dismissal claim.

Lamb told The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and Age that Glover and Davey’s allegations are denied “in the strongest possible terms”.

“However, due to the fact that this is before the Fair Work Commission and is a confidential matter, it is not appropriate to comment further,” he said.

White did not respond to questions.

The company, which originated in Ireland, was delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange in November 2022 after White acquired it for $43.5 million. Under White’s ownership, it operates in Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland, providing data and software so that clients, particularly financial institutions, can meet their know your customer (KYC) obligations.

One of Kyckr’s key features is the ability to identify a company’s ultimate beneficial owners via registries in 100 countries so that their customers can assess the money laundering or terrorism financing risk.

However, it was White’s alleged failure to inform either Kyckr’s management or UK regulatory authorities of the change in the ultimate beneficial ownership of Kyckr which began sparking dissent in the ranks.

On October 24, the same day White stepped down as chief executive of WiseTech following reports about his alleged inappropriate behaviour toward women, he quietly appointed his new wife, Zena Nasser, to the board of his private investment company.

A week later, on November 2, Nasser became a 50 per cent owner of this company, which in turn owned Kyckr.

Kyckr executives did not become aware of Nasser’s ultimate beneficial ownership until early December 2024 when it was revealed by the Herald, The Age and the Financial Review.

This provoked immediate concern within the data security company responsible for anti-money laundering protocols. Glover cited Nasser’s “publicly reported criminal associations” as a reason why Nasser, as an ultimate beneficial owner, might not meet the stringent UK “fit and proper persons” requirements, according to court documents.

Phelan is alleged to have raised the “reputational and regulatory risks” associated with Nasser’s ownership as well as the failure to notify senior Kyckr executives about her appointment.

Nasser is a former criminal defence lawyer who once had an array of Sydney underworld figures as clients. These included bikie boss Hassan Kalache, drug importer Michael Ibrahim (the brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim) and gang leader Bassam Hamzy.

She was banned from visiting jails in NSW in 2007 because NSW Corrective Services had reason to believe she was forwarding her clients’ calls to their associates outside prison.

In 2012, she was briefly a director and shareholder of Krazye Dave Pty Ltd, a company associated with one-time Notorious bikie gang enforcer Sofe Veiru Levi, better known as “Crazy Dave” Lima.

However, a fortnight after the articles appeared regarding Nasser’s half-ownership of Kyckr’s parent company, her shares were reduced to 1 per cent, meaning the company no longer had to identify her ownership.

In her wrongful dismissal claim, Glover claimed another reason for Phelan’s removal followed escalating tensions concerning White’s failure “to honour equity and management buyout commitments made to Ms Phelan and other key personnel”.

These current legal actions cap a tumultuous year for White, who resigned as chief executive last October following an investigation by the Herald, The Age and Financial Review which revealed allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, including complaints by multiple women who alleged he traded business advice for sex, a $2 million settlement with a former lover and WiseTech contractor, as well as bullying and intimidation. A board review cleared White of wrongdoing. However, it found White had misled the board about personal matters, but would take no action against him.

In October last year, White settled with Sydney wellness entrepreneur Linda Rogan, with whom he had an affair, was going to invest in her business, and bought a Vaucluse mansion for. The WiseTech founder attempted to bankrupt Rogan over a $92,000 furniture bill. Rogan contested the bankruptcy notice, which split their years-long fight into the public domain.

In April, White reached a settlement with a third woman who raised allegations against him, Caroline Heidemann, this time that he had provided her with financial assistance and help with her visa in return for sex.

He reached another settlement with his former long-time partner Christine Kontos, who made allegations to the board review.

In February, WiseTech’s four independent directors, including chair Richard Dammery, resigned en masse, telling the ASX they were quitting due to “intractable differences in the board and differing views around the ongoing role” of the company’s founder White, who owns 36 per cent of the company.

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