Tribunal finds Bogdanov’s false PhD claim was ‘intentional and fraudulent’

Anushka Bogdanov challenged the sanctions, arguing she believed the qualification was valid, that she had not gained financially, that there was no market harm, and that the penalties were disproportionate. Picture: Facebook/Anushka Bogdanov The Financial Services Tribunal has dismissed former EOH director Anushka Bogdanov’s application for reconsideration of the JSE’s sanctions against her, after finding that her false claim to hold a PhD from London Business School was intentional and fraudulent. Last year, the JSE imposed a public censure, fined her R500 000, and disqualified her from holding office as a director or officer of a company listed on the JSE for 10 years.

Bogdanov applied for reconsideration, claiming she was under the “genuine belief” that the PhD had been conferred, that she had received no unlawful gain, that no market harm had resulted, and that the sanctions were disproportionate to those imposed in other matters. She also contended her health had not been adequately considered and that she had been denied a fair hearing before the JSE Sens announcement. The Tribunal dismissed the key arguments Bogdanov advanced in support of her application.

“When the applicant submitted her CV to EOH, she included the PhD qualification. This was intentional and fraudulent. The Tribunal takes a firm view that this appears to constitute elements of criminal conduct.” In comparing sanctions imposed in other matters, it found that “each case must be considered on its own facts”.

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The Tribunal acknowledged the JSE had considered her illness as a mitigating factor, but found that the forgeries, false submissions, and her “blatant failure to respond to queries by the JSE for a period of three years” were aggravating factors. “She was healthy enough to conduct a business, serve all kinds of functions, study for another doctorate, but too ill to answer simple requests.” Bogdanov was appointed to the EOH board on 20 June 2019, serving as chair of the Social and Ethics Committee and a member of the Governance and Risk Committee. In February 2020, she became EOH’s lead independent non-executive director. EOH changed its name to iOCO, but that was a few years after Bogdanov had left the group.

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