Vince McMahon Could Be Forced To Stand Down From WWE Over Federal Government Investigations

In a profile in the Los Angeles Times, it has been stated that Vince McMahon could eventually be forced to stand down as a director of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE and UFC. McMahon is the Executive Chairman of the Board of TKO Group Holdings, having taken on the role following the completion of the WWE-UFC merger on September 12.

The merger was completed amid federal government investigations into payments made by McMahon that were not recorded in WWE's annual accounts. Those investigations remain ongoing and Jacob Frenkel, the Chair of Dickinson Wright's Government Investigations & Securities Enforcement Practice Group and a former senior counsel in the SEC's Division of Enforcement, told the LA Times that McMahon could face criminal or civil liabilities that may prevent him from serving as a director of a public company as a result of the investigations.

McMahon has allegedly paid at least $14.6 million to several women, including former WWE employees, to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity since 2006. Another $5 million was paid to the Donald Trump Foundation in relation to WWE TV appearances from Trump in 2007 and 2009.

Federal law enforcement executed a search warrant and served a federal grand jury subpoena to McMahon on July 17. No charges have been filed against the 78-year-old

McMahon issued a statement to WWE employees about the subpoena in August, stating he thinks the government investigations "will be resolved without any finds of wrongdoing."