The stock option scandal which has caused turmoil at Apple is drawing closer to chief executive Steve Jobs, it appears.
According to reports which emerged yesterday, it seems that five years ago Jobs received a bundle of 7.5m stock options without the proper approval of the Apple board.
Richard Waters at the FT says this morning:
Records that purported to show a full board meeting had taken place to approve Mr Jobs' remuneration, as required by Apple's procedures, were later falsified. These are now among the pieces of evidence being weighed by the Securities and Exchange Commission as it decides whether to pursue a case against the company or any individuals over the affair, according to these people.
Previously Jobs has said he did not receive any of the dodgy benefits. Famously, of course, he gets a salary of just $1 but there are perks given to him along the way from the company.
If you haven't been following the stock option probe, then here's a primer: it basically involves executives at a company being given share options that have their price backdated to a point in time . So I might have been given the option on a million shares which are worth $1 each today but were worth 50 cents a month ago. Profit bonanza! Of course, in order to do this, documents and accounts must be falsified. It's a practice that has engulfed more than 160 US companies, many of them in and around Silicon Valley.
Earlier this year Apple's other Steve, Steve Wozniak, told me that Apple needed to make up for the damage that they'd caused in backdating. And Jobs has previously apologised for irregularities, but indicated that he had not been involved in any way.
This brings things a little closer to home, although it could have been be even worse news for him - after all, it seems that he did not exercise the options in question. [Edits for clarity - Charles Arthur]
