Scandal-plagued billionaire Richard White is at the centre of a fresh drama after the corporate regulator and the Australian Federal Police raided the Sydney headquarters of WiseTech Global.
Prompted by this masthead’s revelations in February that White may have engaged in insider trading – an offence which can attract a 15-year jail term – search warrants were executed at the global logistic giant’s Alexandria office on Monday.
The investigation concerns alleged trading in WiseTech shares by its billionaire co-founder Richard White and three company employees between late 2024 and early 2025, its board said in a statement to the ASX.Credit: Bloomberg
News of the raid led to more than $4 billion being wiped from WiseTech’s value, with its share price crashing 15.6 per cent. White, who founded the company in 1994 and still owns more than a third of it, personally lost more than $1 billion in Tuesday’s share rout.
Just before the market opened at 9am, the company informed the stock exchange that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the AFP had “executed a search warrant requiring the production of documents regarding alleged trading in WiseTech shares by Richard White and three WiseTech employees during the period from late 2024 to early 2025”.
“So far as WiseTech is aware, no charges have been laid against any person and there are no allegations against the company itself,” the statement read.
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Monday’s raid continues 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.
The company, which serves more than 17,000 logistics companies globally, has undergone significant leadership scrutiny in recent months surrounding White.
After exiting the CEO role, he was given a new consulting role at the company with an annual salary of $1 million. After four independent directors dramatically quit the board in February this year, White, 70, rejoined the board as executive chair.
