Billionaire Sex Saga Is Latest Scandal to Hit Australia CEOs (1)

The sex-for-investment scandal that swiftly deposed Australian tech billionaire Richard White is just the latest corporate calamity in a country fast losing its reputation as a tightly-regulated market with strict governance standards.

More than A$7.7 billion ($5.1 billion) of market value has been wiped from WiseTech Global Ltd. this week before White suddenly stepped down as chief executive officer late Thursday. His resignation followed a series of ever-worsening media reports and claims, including that he’d paid millions of dollars to a former partner to settle allegations of inappropriate behavior.

Ultimately, White’s three-decade tenure at the helm of the freight-software giant ...