Arch Coal Inc. paid company insiders $29 million in the year leading up to its chapter 11 case, including more than $8 million in bonuses to top executives three days before its bankruptcy filing, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Arch executives and directors collected $29.17 million in wages, benefits, bonuses, director fees and other payments between January 2015 and this past January, according to papers filed this week in the St. Louis bankruptcy court. The payments included $8.12 million in bonuses paid out to seven executives on Jan. 8. Some $2.78 million of that amount went to Chairman and Chief Executive John Eaves. Arch sought chapter 11 protection on Jan. 11. However, a person familiar with the payments said the bonuses were awarded under longstanding, companywide incentive plans that had been approved by Arch’s board of directors. Some of the bonuses were earned over 2015, while the remainder was paid based on the company’s performance over a three-year period ended 2015.
