French police have arrested five former high-ranking Ubisoft employees who happen to be executives, as part of an ongoing investigation into harassment at the game publisher.
Five Former High-Ranking Ubisoft Employees Arrested Following Sexual Harassment Investigation; “Can’t Comment”, Ubisoft Stated| Photo: BBC
The arrests include former Ubisoft employees Serge Hascoët and Tommy François, who both resigned from Ubisoft in 2020 following allegations of misconduct.
The arrests of the former Ubisoft employees were made after two victims and a union filed complaints to the prosecutors’ office.
Ubisoft has responded to the arrests of the said former high-ranking Ubisoft employees by stating that they have no information about the events that have been shared and therefore cannot provide any comments on the matter.
In 2020, Yves Guillemot, the co-founder, and CEO of Ubisoft, addressed the harassment allegations made against some high-ranking Ubisoft employees.
Guillemot stated that Ubisoft had taken immediate action and was conducting a thorough investigation to address the issue appropriately.
These arrests follow a wave of allegations of abuse and harassment within Ubisoft, with employees claiming that the company knew about the sexual harassment and protected those former Ubisoft employees accused of misconduct, according to The Verge.
A 2020 internal survey revealed that 25 percent of Ubisoft employees experienced workplace misconduct.
The victims’ lawyer describes the case as revealing systemic violence rather than simple individual behavior, The Verge added.
READ MORE| Several former Ubisoft executives arrested on sexual harassment allegations
