WWE head Vince McMahon was served with a subpoena and search warrant last month, according to a regulatory filing the company issued on Wednesday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filing stated that the subpeona and search warrant were received on July 21. WWE said it had received “voluntary and compulsory legal demands for documents, including from federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, concerning the investigation and related subject matters”.
The investigation is believed to be an extension of the probe that began last summer, when McMahon, 77, retired as chief executive amid allegations that he paid millions of dollars to women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
Despite leaving the company he returned and played an instrumental role in formenting an ongoing merger between WWE and UFC parent company, Endeavor Group Holdings. McMahon was to remain executive chairman of the board following the merger, which was announced in April, as part of which Endeavor would retain 51 per cent ownership and WWE shareolders the rest.
During the company's second quarter earnings call, WWE chief executive Nick Khan also revealed that McMahon had been on medical leave since July 21, following "major spinal surgery", but that he was still executive chairman. The company reported a quarterly record of $410.3 million in revenue.
It also announced that an investigation by a special committee formed by the company's board had "incurred $5.3 million and $7.1 million, respectively, of expenses related to costs incurred”. WWE added: “Mr McMahon has agreed to review in good faith and reimburse the company for all reasonable costs incurred in connection with and/or arising from the investigation”. McMahon has already reimbursed the company about $17.4 million for the costs incurred.
"As previously disclosed, the Special Committee investigation was completed during the fourth quarter of 2022. However, related government investigations remain ongoing,” WWE added.
McMahon has been the public face of WWE since he purchased the company – then the WWF – from his father for $1 million in 1982. In the years since, he has grown it into a multi-billion dollar business empire.
