JOHANNESBURG – Anushka Bogdanov is responding to a JSE R500 000 fine over a false doctoral claim, citing inaccuracy and lack of legitimate processes, reaffirming his commitment to governance and ESG leadership in Africa.
On Friday, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) announced that it had imposed an R500,000 fine and a 10-year supervision on former non-executive director of EOH Holdings (now IOCO) Anushka Bogdanov for falsely claiming to obtain a doctorate in international finance from a London business school.
Related: JSE Fine Science Director Anushka Bogdanov R500K for Fake PhD – Bulrushes
Bogdanov served as independent, non-executive superintendent at EOH from June 2019 until his resignation in July 2020.
During her tenure, her curriculum Vito and formal declaration to JSE stated that she has a PhD in International Financial Management and Mathematics from the London Business School.
Eoh then discovered that Bogdanov did not earn the billed degree, leading to extensive JSE investigations.
Despite multiple opportunities to provide evidence, Bogdanov was unable to demonstrate her qualifications and ultimately admitted that her PhD was manufactured in late 2024.
Bogdanov, who was transferred to TechFinancials in a LinkedIn post, wrote:
“The announcement contains some de facto inaccuracies and misrepresentations.
“Anushka is a highly qualified governance and risk management specialist with over 30 years of professional experience in senior leadership positions at various financial and development institutions.
“She submitted all support documents to JSE with sincerity and complete transparency from accredited institutions that include doctoral studies.
“She is deeply concerned about both the content and the governance process, which led to the presentation, including the lack of reasonable opportunities to respond before its publication.
“She seeks legal advice and is committed to constructively engagement with all involved parties to clarify and resolve this issue.
“As a risk management and governance expert who is recognized far beyond the pioneering South African borders and Africa's first ESG AI-powered assessment and analytics platform, Anushkabogdanov has led the development of ESG on the continent since 2017 at a time when global ESG landscapes were largely excluded from the African market.
“A variety of ESG tools have been conceptualized, built and launched by Africans for Africa, and are now used by several institutions in Africa to improve market transparency, improve promotional governance and responsible investment, and fight against greenwashing.
“She is focused on supporting the continent's sustainable development, climate resilience and inclusive growth, especially in a time when global reversals on climate and diversity require bold leadership.”
Bogdanov has also released the following podcast entitled “Responding to JSE Sens: Truth, Transparency, ESG Future.”
*This article was first published in sister publication techfinancials.co.za
