Ex-BCLC CEO Apologises for Conflict of Interests
The ex-British Columbia Lottery Corporations CEO Apologises for Conflict of Interests that have arisen since he quit his job for the BCLC. A report submitted last week finds that the ex-BCLC boss, Michael Graydon, may have had a conflict of interest resulting from his new position at PV Hospitality.
Graydon Became President of PV Hospitality
Micahel Graydon resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of the B.C. Lottery Corportion at the end of January this year. He had originally requested that he continue working for the BCLC until the end of March. The board of directors accepted his resignation to be effective as of February 4th, and while Graydon was paid until the end of March, he would not be allowed to continue working for the company. At the time of his resignation, the decision to build a casino next to the B.C. Place Stadium was being finalised.
Just three days after Graydon's resignation, he was hired to be the president of PV Hospitality ULC. PV Hospitality is involved in the joint venture of Paragon Gaming Inc., Dundee Corp., and 360 VOX Corp. The joint venture were working toward moving the Edgewater Casino to land located next to B.C. Place. While discussions had been ongoing, Graydon had been part of discussions regarding the move in his capacity as BCLC CEO. The meetings had taken place in December 2013 and January 2014.
Conclusions of Conflict of Interest Report
The report regarding whether Graydon had a conflict of interest by accepting this new position at a company that had a financial stake in the relocation of the Edgewater Casino came up with the conclusion that there could be some conflict of interest. The reports was commissioned by Finance Minister Mike de Jong.
The report noted: "As an individual, Mr. Graydon would have a private economic interest in his prospective employment with an affiliate of Paragon Gaming. This interest could be considered significant enough to at least establish a reasonable apprehension that it would influence the duties and responsibilities of a CEO of BCLC."
In addition to this, Graydon's mobile devices still allowed him access to the BCLC systems for 10 days after he no longer worked for the corporation. While it seems that Graydon sent out some emails from his former email address, there was no evidence that he had attempted to access confidential information. This issue seems to have arisen because his mobile devices had not had the relevant data removed correctly and he had not been removed from the BCLC server.
A statement that Paragon released reads as follows: "While the auditors found no evidence of my current employer receiving preferential treatment, and no evidence of any confidential information disclosed, I understand that a perception of potential conflict was created, and for this I apologise."
