A New York court yesterday ordered former New York Stock Exchange CEO, Dick Grasso, to return about US$100 million in compensation from the exchange.

According to a statement from Darren Dopp, director of communications for the New York State Department Of Law, New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos ruled that Grasso must return approximately US$100 million already paid to him by the NYSE.

“The court granted the state’s motion for partial summary judgment finding that Mr. Grasso breached his fiduciary duty to the NYSE in accumulating and accepting pension benefits without disclosing the amount of those benefits to the board of directors,” he noted.

Dopp notes that the court said that the Court directed Grasso to return the US$80 million in pension (SERP) benefits that he received from the NYSE. In addition, “the court found that he must return substantial additional sums (in the tens of millions of dollars) that were advanced to him as part of his lump sum payment in 2003, and to pay interest on US$36 million in improper, interest-free loans that he illegally took from the NYSE. The court also dismissed Grasso’s claim for additional payments from the NYSE,” he adds.