Old Mutual announced that it had terminated the contract of its chief executive Peter Moyo on Tuesday.
Explaining the decision in a statement, the company referenced a conflict of interest involving NMT Capital, an investment group which was co-founded by Mr Moyo.
In the meantime, chief operating officer, Iain Williamson, has been appointed as interim CEO.
In a statement, the financial firm said:
“There is a duty on directors of all institutions to be vigilant regarding the management of conflicts of interest. The importance of this duty has been highlighted by a number of recent corporate governance breakdowns within both the private and public sector.”
“The Board has not been provided with an acceptable explanation why, in clear contravention of the relevant preference share agreement with Old Mutual as well as Mr Moyo’s employment obligations, ordinary dividends were declared whilst debt to Old Mutual was outstanding.”
The company added that this led to “a material breakdown in trust and confidence in Mr Moyo.”
Old Mutual is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, as well as in London, Malawi and Namibia. It specialises in Insurance services across Africa.
Old Mutual (LON:OMU) shares are currently trading +2.71% as of 11:54PM (GMT).