PayMongo announced Monday that its CEO and cofounder Francis Plaza is stepping away from the Philippine fintech startup for at least a week amid a company investigation into a sexual harassment allegation against the 29-year-old. Plaza denies the allegation.
The company’s board of directors, chaired by cofounder and former chief commercial officer Luis Sia, approved Plaza’s voluntary leave of absence for the duration of the investigation. The complaint, filed by a former employee on August 11, is being processed by an independent committee. In the interim, COO Isabel Ridad will serve as acting CEO.
“The Company has taken active steps to address the complaint filed by a former employee against Francis Plaza,” PayMongo said in a statement to Forbes Asia on Monday. “Our Committee on Decorum and Investigation is in the middle of its inquiry into the matter, and ensures that it will be credible, independent, and fair to all concerned.”
PayMongo’s statement comes almost a week after news outlet Tech in Asia reported that the company is investigating a sexual harassment claim against Plaza. “I cannot comment on the specifics while the investigation is ongoing, unfortunately, but what I can say right now is that I steadfastly deny many of the baseless and false claims that were made against me,” Plaza says in a video interview on Tuesday. “What the claims have done is they unduly cast aspersions not just on me, but also the processes and procedures of the company.”
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