Staff at collapsed tech company Powa were sent this email containing a photo of the CEO dressed as David Bowie

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Staff at collapsed tech company Powa were sent this email containing a photo of the CEO dressed as David Bowie
The collapse of London tech business Powa Technologies is getting stranger and stranger. The former CFO of the company posted a photo on Twitter that purports to show CEO Dan Wagner dressed as David Bowie, from an email that Wagner's staff received at work.
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The photo popped up a day after it emerged that Wagner's Wikipedia page had been edited to paint him in a more positive light by removing references to the company's bankruptcy.

Former acting CFO Steven Prowse posted a screenshot on Twitter of an email apparently sent from Wagner's account to Powa staff on the January 12, two days after Bowie passed away. Business Insider hasn't been able to contact Wagner to verify the picture in the email. He did not immediately respond to a call and email. But two other Powa employees told us they had received the email at work.

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The subject reads "Long live the legacy of David Bowie", while the body reads: "(....I don't do tributes in half measures!....)."


Prowse - who also wrote a scathing critique of management on LinkedIn - claims in his tweet that the email was sent to Powa staff at a time when the company had fallen behind on its wage payments to them. The company's troubles first surfaced after the Financial Times reported that some staff were not paid on time in January.

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We contacted Wagner for comment and will update if and when we hear from him.

Powa Technologies, which makes payment apps, online shops, and payment terminals, was once valued at $2.7 billion (£1.8 billion) and raised at least $220 million from investors over the last three years.

But the company collapsed into administration last month after running out of money. Accounts show it had just $250,000 at the start of February and debts of $16.4 million.

75 staff have so far been made redundant while an estimated 160 international employees of Powa remain "in limbo"", without clarity about their future.

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