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ViacomCBS says dispute between former CEO Moonves and CBS resolved

May 14, 2021 at 04:56 pm EDT

(Reuters) -ViacomCBS Inc said https://bit.ly/2Rdeph8 on Friday a dispute between CBS and its former Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves who was accused of sexual assault and harassment has been resolved and the parties have dismissed the arbitration process.

CBS Corp had fired Moonves for cause in 2018 and denied a $120 million severance package following a board review of the findings of an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and the CBS culture conducted by two law firms hired by the CBS board.

The dispute moved into binding arbitration and the company contributed $120 million into a grantor trust, which now reverts to the company, ViacomCBS said.

In a joint statement by ViacomCBS and Moonves, the parties said Moonves, CBS and a contractor of CBS "have resolved their disputes".

The cost of the settlement, which was not disclosed, will be paid by the "contractor of CBS," which also was not disclosed.

The settlement will be donated to charities by Moonves, according to the joint statement.

Moonves has denied any wrongdoing and has described his sexual encounters as consensual.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru and Kenneth Li in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Daniel Wallis)

Leslie Moonves

Leslie Moonves is a businessperson who has been the head of 13 different companies. He holds the position of Chairman for CBS Global Distribution Group, Chairman at CBS Radio, Inc., President & Chief Executive Officer of CBS Operations, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer at CBS Broadcasting, Inc. He is also on the board of 6 other companies. Mr. Moonves previously held the position of Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of ViacomCBS, Inc. Chief Executive Officer of CBS Broadcasting, Inc. Co-President & Co-Chief Operating Officer at Viacom, Inc. and President at CBS Entertainment Services, Inc. (which are all subsidiaries of ViacomCBS, Inc.), Chairman at OUTFRONT Media, Inc., President at Hollywood Radio & Television Society, President for Lorimar Telepictures Corp., President at Warner Bros. Television Production, Inc., Vice President-Movies at Twentieth Century Fox International Television, Inc. and Co-Chairman-Governors Board at The Paley Center for Media. Leslie Moonves received an undergraduate degree from Bucknell University.

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