Wrestling empire WWE announces that controversial company founder Vince McMahon has been the target of a house search and has been summoned before a grand jury.
It’s been quiet for a while in the scandal surrounding WWE mogul Vince McMahon – now he’s back in the spotlight.
As the wrestling empire admitted in the course of their obligatory quarterly report on Wednesday, there was a house search by state investigators at the league patriarch last month. The 77-year-old had also been handed a subpoena to appear before a grand jury, a federal jury panel.
Further details about the exact reasons were not initially released, but it is clear that state investigators and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have been investigating for some time whether the wave of scandal revelations surrounding McMahon, which began last year, brought to light stock and criminal violations.
Only the best people. Trump associate and friend, WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon, has been served with a federal grand jury subpoena and issued a search warrant by federal agents. pic.twitter.com/vKJmeTjDXj
– Mike Sington (@MikeSington) August 2, 2023
Vince McMahon at the centre of various scandal revelations
McMahon has admitted hush-money payments to several women accusing him of sexual assault or harassment around their workplace, past the company’s official accounting books. He himself now reiterated his assurance that he had committed “no intentional wrongdoing whatsoever. “
The internal review of what happened also brought other suspicious money flows to light, including tax-dubious transfers to former President Donald Trump’s foundation in connection with his WWE appearances could interest federal authorities.
McMahon resigned from all posts last year over the scandal, but returned to WWE as “chairman of the board” earlier this year – against initial opposition from the governing body, which had referred to the government investigations.
In this role, he masterminded the merger of WWE with UFC parent company Endeavor, in which McMahon is supposed to be the number 2 behind boss Ari Emmanuel. In the meantime, McMahon is also actively involved again in the creative area of WWE.
Currently McMahon is taking a break because he is recovering from spinal surgery, CEO Nick Khan did not comment on the revelation when asked at the investor conference and referred to McMahon’s privacy.