Federal police are investigating billionaire businessman Richard White over claims he exploited a woman’s immigration status and financial insecurity for sex and that he provided false information on a visa application.
The Australian Federal Police’s human exploitation taskforce launched the investigation into White, executive chairman of WiseTech Global, one of the country’s most successful software companies, this year after a complaint from a former executive at another company he controls, Kyckr.
White is alleged to have used his power and influence to coerce Caroline Heidemann, a Brazilian once employed by WiseTech as a cleaner, into a sexual relationship. Heidemann made similar claims against White last year, but she ultimately reached a settlement with the businessman.
In her report to the AFP, former Kyckr chief executive Kathy Phelan alleges White had made up a reason to hire Heidemann after she left WiseTech, and that he provided false information to the government to get her a visa.
“The role described in the document did not exist within Kyckr. No arrangement of any kind involving Ms Heidemann had ever been discussed at Kyckr, proposed to me, or approved by the board,” Phelan wrote.
“Ms Heidemann held no office, employment contract, or remunerated role within RealWise or Kyckr. No business case, budget, client pipeline, or strategic plan for a Latin American expansion existed within the Kyckr group. The representations made in the document were false.”
Kyckr, acquired by White’s private business, RealWise, in 2022, helps companies meet anti-money laundering regulations.
But it has been mired in dysfunction for months. Phelan was sacked as chief executive in June last year and former chief technology officer Rebecca Glover has sued for wrongful dismissal, saying she was victim of an “organisational purge” against employees deemed disloyal to White.
Phelan is also suing White over her departure from Kyckr.
In her complaint to the AFP, Phelan alleges White had allegedly asked for a Kyckr letterhead in December 2023, telling her at the time that “he needed it for a taxation purpose but did not elaborate further”.
“At no point – before or after the call – did Mr White inform me that the letterhead would be used to produce a document in Kyckr’s name, that it would be connected to any visa application or sponsorship arrangement, or that it would be associated in any way with … Caroline Heidemann. This was the totality of the transaction from my perspective: a request by phone, a stated reason, and an email with a download link,” she wrote.
Phelan alleges that White instead “created the false appearance that Kyckr under my leadership as CEO was legitimately sponsoring Ms Heidemann in a professional capacity”. “I was not consulted about any visa application or sponsorship arrangement, was not informed that my name or position was being associated with one,” she wrote in her report to the AFP.
The AFP declined to comment, but multiple people briefed on the matter said Phelan’s complaint had led to a formal investigation.
The Herald is not suggesting White is guilty of human exploitation or providing false visa documents, only that he is being investigated over these claims by the AFP. White declined to comment as did Heidemann, through her lawyers. Phelan also declined.
It is unclear what offences would be alleged at this stage of the investigation. Forced labour carries a prison sentence of up to 12 years, as do visa offences.
White, who is also chief innovation officer at WiseTech, one of the country’s most successful software companies, has amassed a personal fortune of $8.9 billion, according to the Financial Review Rich List. But his personal life has worried WiseTech investors. Major fund managers including AustralianSuper have sold out of the company over the past year.
The businessman who co-founded WiseTech in 1994 and grew it into a listed software business valued at more than $12 billion briefly stepped down from executive responsibilities last year amid a review into his conduct and his relationship with women working for the company. After an exodus from the board, White returned as executive chairman in February.
White is separately being investigated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for shares traded between late December 2024 and February 26, 2025. White sold shares valued at more than $200 million while the company was in a blackout period, during which time executives, directors and other key personnel are banned from trading.
He has said he was a consultant at the time, having stepped down as chief executive, and that he had obtained legal advice about the trades.
Despite the instability, many WiseTech investors support White and say he should remain involved in the logistics software business, which last year made its largest ever acquisition, the $3.2 billion purchase of e2open, a competitor that is headquartered in Texas.
In a push to resolve several legal claims against him, White settled with Heidemann without making any admissions. Heidemann had alleged that White had employed her at RealWise as a consultant to Kyckr after she was made redundant from WiseTech during the pandemic. But, she had said, White did not pay her wages or superannuation and instead supported her financially, paying for English lessons and renting her an apartment.
White previously denied Heidemann was employed at RealWise.
In her filings with the Federal Court, Heidemann had alleged White provided her limited access to money “via a credit card which she was permitted to use through Apple Pay, which financial resources were frequently restricted or withdrawn”. At the time, she alleged White used his control over her finances to secure sexual compliance and threatened “her financial and immigration security” if she resisted his advances.
Heidemann also alleged White’s wife, Zena Nasser, sent hostile messages to her and that she had threatened to report Heidemann’s “sham visa” to authorities.
WiseTech shares have slumped by almost two-thirds over the last 12 months, amid concerns about White’s private life and a broader software stock sell-off over worries that increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence tools will be able to replicate many of their functions.
White remains the company’s largest shareholder.
Shares last traded at $36.88, having reached $135.15 in 2024.
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