Leon Negre
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon / Bloomberg
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon / Bloomberg
Leon Black, who abruptly left last month as CEO of Apollo Global Management Inc. said it made payments for years to keep a consensual matter a secret and that allegations about the episode on social media had nothing to do with his departure.
Black, 69, denied Guzel Ganieva’s accusations on Twitter, writing in little-known posts in mid-March: “I was sexually harassed and abused for years” and finally “forced” to sign a non-disclosure agreement. in 2015. Black issued a statement after the New York Post reported that at least four members of Apollo’s board had become aware of his tweets at the time he resigned on March 21, citing health issues not specified for him and his wife.
“I had a crazy adventure agreed upon with Mrs Ganieva that ended more than seven years ago,” Black said in the statement on Thursday. “Any report of harassment or any other inappropriate behavior towards it is completely manufactured. The truth is that Mrs Ganieva has been extorting me for many years and I have made effective monetary payments to her, based on her threats to make our relationship public, in an attempt to save my family from public embarrassment. “
Black had already planned to leave the post in late July as CEO of the firm he co-founded. He said that, on the advice of his lawyer, he asked the criminal authorities several weeks ago to investigate Ganieva.
“This is completely a personal matter,” he said. “This issue has nothing to do with Apollo or my decision to move away from the company.”
Ganieva, who was reached by Bloomberg, said in a text message, “I’m on the side of what I said in my tweets on March 17.” He said he would refer more questions to a lawyer.
– With the assistance of Heather Perlberg