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Kogan.com’s two most senior executives made $17.6 million selling options back to the company just three weeks before a profit downgrade pushed the share price so low that the transaction would not have been possible.

The options were issued to the online retailer’s founder and chief executive, Ruslan Kogan, and its chief financial officer, David Shafer, in 2020. This month, the company disclosed that it had struck a deal with the two executives, allowing them to sell the options back to the company for the difference between their strike price and the share price.

The stock soared to $7.90 at the time of the April 4 share sales after Kogan.com told investors profit margins were rising and earnings had been strong in January.

But in an update on Wednesday, Kogan.com said revenues and sales were lower in the first three months of the year, sending shares down 27.5 per cent to $5.10, below the exercise price of the options that Mr Kogan and Mr Shafer previously held.