Connect Yorkshire EIR and The co-founder and former chief executive of big data firm Cirata – which was previously called WANdisco – said the past two years have been among the most challenging of his life.
David Richards spoke out following news that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had closed its investigation into his old business and will be taking no further action against it. He said his name had been “pulled into narratives that bore no resemblance to the truth.”
The probe began after Sheffield-based WANdisco was rocked by a multi-million dollar fraud in early 2023. The business warned the London Stock Exchange about potentially fraudulent purchase and sales orders.
A report subsequently confirmed purchase orders worth $15m and sales bookings of $115m in 2022 were false, and that WANdisco’s full-year revenues for 2022 should have been $9.7m. The same report also stated that unaudited bookings should have been $11.4m, rather than $127m.
The company said the false purchase orders were made by one of its senior sales employees and in May 2023 it slashed its global headcount by about 30 per cent. Richards, along with chief financial officer Erik Miller resigned from the business’s board and leadership team.
Today, (1 December) Richards stated: “After two long years, I can finally say this. The FCA has formally closed its investigation into WANdisco (now Cirata) with no action taken. I took part in the process as a witness, and I welcome the regulator’s clear and definitive conclusion.
“These past two years have been among the most challenging of my life, not because of anything I did, but because of the cloud that formed around events I neither caused nor knew about.
“When irregularities surfaced in March 2023, I was the one who uncovered them and escalated them immediately. I did exactly what any responsible leader should do.
“Despite that, a wave of assumptions and commentary took on a life of its own. It has been hard, at times brutal, watching my name pulled into narratives that bore no resemblance to the truth.
“That is why the FCA’s independent review matters so much. It looked at every part of what happened. Every disclosure. Every process. Every decision. It has brought complete clarity. The concerns about my conduct were unfounded.
“I have learned a huge amount through this period. About resilience. About leadership under pressure. About who stands by you when the dust is thick and the noise is loud.
“And about the importance of trusting the process, even when it takes far longer than you would ever wish.
“Today, I draw a line under this chapter. To everyone who reached out, checked in, or quietly stood beside me, thank you. Truly.”
Richards is now executive chairman of financial media and technology group, Lift Global Ventures and managing partner of Yorkshire AI Labs, which specialises in nurturing early-stage tech companies by combining strategic investment with practical expertise.
He added: “Now it is time to look forward. I am more energised than ever about the work we are doing at Yorkshire AI Labs LLP and the future we are building with an outstanding team around me.
“Sometimes the hardest chapters give you the clearest sense of purpose. This is one of those moments.”
Article via thebusinessdesk.com
