Prior to the bankruptcy that eliminated investments from regular shareholders, IronNet, a disputed cybersecurity startup funded by a director linked to a Russian oligarch, compensated ex-Republican Representative Mike Rogers with close to $725,000, as shown in documents examined by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). Rogers, now competing in a close Senate contest in Michigan, also obtained a six-figure secured promissory note from the company that gave him precedence over other creditors, and he declared notable capital gains from IronNet shares.

IronNet was established in 2014 by former National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander with the goal of transforming how institutions handle cyberattacks.

Rogers, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee for four years, joined IronNet’s board right after leaving the House in January 2015, per his financial records. The transition proved lucrative. Benefiting from the shift between Congress and private industry brought Rogers nearly $2 million from four tech and cybersecurity firms in 2022-2023 alone, according to Business Insider.

Over his eight-year term, Rogers monitored IronNet’s finances as part of the board’s Audit Committee. From August 27, 2021, when the company went public via a complex reverse merger, through July 20, 2023, when Rogers left the board, the firm shed 99 percent of its stock value, dropping from $14 to $0.14 per share, based on Investing.com data. An investor group filed suit, claiming the company had overstated revenue to boost its stock price; in September 2024, the bankrupt firm resolved the case for $6.6 million.

IronNet aimed to leverage its strong ties within the U.S. national security community to secure major contracts with the NSA, the U.S. Navy, the Kuwaiti government, and others, yet failed to succeed. The firm’s main draw was Alexander’s reputation as a former NSA director, a cybersecurity investing specialist told the Associated Press, noting that its dramatic failure stemmed from overconfidence.

IronNet brought Andre Pienaar, a South African private intelligence operative, onto its board in 2018, as his private equity firm, C5 Capital, provided an initial $35 million investment that expanded to $60 million by the public offering, according to the AP. Following IronNet’s 2023 bankruptcy, C5 and ITC Secure, another Pienaar-led firm, supplied financing and acquired many of the bankrupt company’s assets, merging ITC Secure and IronNet in February 2026 to create a new entity called Collective Defence, which he chairs, per his LinkedIn profile. C5 was also a key IronNet client with a $5.2 million contract that a former IronNet executive described to the AP as overstated.

Pienaar reportedly maintained close ties with the twice-sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, with documents obtained by the AP showing that Pienaar served on the board of a South African mine representing Vekselberg. The AP further reported that he assisted the Kremlin-linked oligarch in engaging London’s elite and interviewed former intelligence officials who suggested that his alleged connections to Vekselberg should have barred him from investing in IronNet.

According to the AP, the firm failed partly because it pursued questionable business practices, delivered inferior products and services, and formed associations that risked Kremlin interference. One former IronNet vice president told the AP he felt ashamed to have served on the board and that the company’s leaders fostered a culture of deception.

Pienaar sued an AP reporter during the outlet’s coverage but withdrew the case just before discovery began.

Rogers’s financial disclosures since 2023 present a detailed view of his ties to the bankrupt firm. In addition to the $724,887 in payments, his December 2023 filing lists a $250,000 to $500,000 promissory note from IronNet. In December 2022, amid financial decline, IronNet issued $6.9 million in secured promissory notes at a 13.8 percent annual interest rate to its officers and directors, granting them priority in bankruptcy distributions.

Clearly they prioritized their own interests and disregarded other shareholders, said Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen. It seems IronNet was created by a small group for personal gain, serving that aim at the cost of everyone else.

As of July 2026 the promissory note no longer appears on Rogers’ financial statement, yet a court document from September 22, 2026, confirms that Rogers remains a secured creditor of the bankrupt firm. The legal research database Stretto lists him as owed $557,883, although his Senate campaign disclosures for the past three years omit it.

Rogers’ December 2023 financial disclosure also indicates he received between $100,000 and $1,000,000 in capital gains from IronNet stock holdings that were then minimal, likely from sales before the bankruptcy. Bankruptcy usually makes company shares worthless.

Most investors in IronNet lost substantial sums from the bankruptcy, Holman noted. But Rogers earned a lot of money. His gains do not align with standard business practices and instead highlight the political advantages IronNet and its investors gained from having Rogers involved.

If Rogers sold shares before leaving the board in July 2023, those transactions would have required mandatory SEC disclosures, which he did not submit. No one from his campaign responded to CMD inquiries.

Pienaar denies any link to Vekselberg, and his attorneys told the AP that South African regulatory filings showing his connection to the oligarch may be fabricated. President Trump has been more open about his ties to the pro-Putin billionaire. In May, his administration approved a deal resulting in a $23 million payment to Vekselberg.