WEF founder Klaus Schwab files criminal complaint against whistleblowers

GENEVA (Reuters) -World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab has filed a criminal complaint against the whistleblowers who anonymously alleged misconduct by him, a spokesperson for Schwab confirmed on Thursday.

The forum had launched an investigation in April into Schwab following a whistleblower letter alleging misconduct by him, only a day after the 87-year-old Schwab said he was resigning as chairman, without stating a reason.

"We can confirm the complaint," said a spokesperson for Schwab, adding that it contained allegations of defamation and coercion and had been filed with the public prosecutor in Geneva.

Britain's Financial Times first reported Schwab's complaint.

The Geneva prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a public holiday.

The WEF, whose annual gathering of business and political leaders in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos has become a symbol of globalisation, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Schwab told the FT that he would fight the "stupid and constructed" allegations.

The FT report said the WEF had declined to comment on Schwab’s legal action, saying it was "a matter apparently directed privately against unknown whistleblowers".

"We will have this public prosecutor investigation now, we don't know how aggressive they will be," Schwab said. "If they find a systemic attempt to undermine my reputation, this won’t be comfortable for the board."

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the probe in April, had said the anonymous letter raised concerns about the WEF's governance and workplace culture, including allegations that the Schwab family mixed their personal affairs with the forum's resources without proper oversight.

The Schwab family denied all the allegations in the whistleblower complaint to the Journal. Schwab also denied all allegations against him in his comments to the FT.

The forum has previously stated that it would wait for the outcome of the investigation to comment further.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Gareth Jones)