Prudential CEO Shriti Vadera under investigation over second harassment complaint

Prudential chairwoman Shriti Vadera has been investigated over a second harassment complaint, the Mail has learned.

This comes after the former Labour Party grandee faced a similar allegation earlier in 2021 which was the subject of an investigation by independent prosecutor Aileen McColgan.

Vadera was acquitted, but another complaint was filed in 2022, not reported until now.

Ms McColgan also investigated this, but the Mail has not been able to establish the outcome of the second investigation.

Vadera “indicated that he could have handled some elements of the situation differently,” a source close to the company said.

Prudential’s board of directors was said to be “very supportive of the chairman and pleased with the outcome.”

The Pru stated: “A complaint was investigated in 2022 in accordance with our standard policies for such matters.”

The allegations relate to a period two years ago when a major restructuring took place, including a management overhaul and the relocation of most staff to the Far East.

But the episode is likely to raise fresh questions about the governance of the company, which is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

Vadera is based in London, but Anil Wadhwani, the CEO since early 2023, runs the business from Hong Kong.

Vadera, born in Uganda, moved to India and then England with her family.

She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and became an investment banker.

She was a key adviser to Chancellor Gordon Brown in Tony Blair’s government and was created a baroness in 2007, although she now sits as an independent.

As a minister in Brown’s Labour government, she worked on issues including Britain’s response to the global financial crisis.

Reports suggest he had a frosty relationship with civil servants. He was said to be able to reduce junior members of staff to tears and was once also said to have “ripped Blair off”.

Vadera has since held a number of other high-profile roles, including stints on the boards of AstraZeneca and BHP.

She was once considered a candidate to succeed Mark Carney as governor of the Bank of England, and became chair of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2021. She chaired Santander UK, the bank, from 2015 to 2020 before moving to Prudential in 2021.

The company has been in a state of flux in recent years, spinning off its UK operations as separately listed M&G in 2019 and spinning off its US business Jackson in 2021, leaving it focused on Asia.

And the sector more broadly has been hit by investor concerns about China’s consumer economy and the crisis facing the country’s debt-laden property sector.

Vadera admitted at the company’s annual meeting in May that Prudential’s share price performance had been “frustrating and disappointing.” The stock is down nearly a fifth so far this year.

The allegations against Vadera are just the latest example of the problems at the top of Prudential in recent years.

Chief financial officer James Turner resigned last year after an investigation into a recent recruit’s code of conduct showed he was “not meeting” standards.