Monster Worldwide said its board of directors has suspended its senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary Myron Olesnyckyj, effective immediately, pending the results of the ongoing review of the company’s stock option grant practices. The company, which made the announcement in a regulatory filing, did not provide further details.
On June 12, company officials said a committee of independent directors, with the assistance of independent legal counsel, had launched an internal review at the career website. A month later, Monster announced the possibility of an accounting restatement covering the year ended December 31, 2005 and prior years, to record additional non-cash charges for stock-based compensation expense relating to various stock option grants. Yesterday, Monster said the restatement is “very likely.”
The Wall Street Journal has raised questions about the timing of stock options grants at Monster. It reported, for example, that between 1997 and 2001, Monster made seven grants to James J. Treacy, who eventually became the company’s No. 2 executive. It pointed out that the dates for four of the grants correspond to the stock’s lowest closing price of a quarter or year.