Matthew Vella The Finance Ministry has refuted claims of conflict of interest in the case of a director of the gaming authority whose firm assists online gaming companies in obtaining licensing from the regulator itself.
Jesmond Pace, appointed to the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) board in 2006 and reappointed in 2008, is a shareholder and managing director of the FACT group of companies, an audit firm that also handles the setting-up of online gaming companies, amongst other services.
The firm’s website states that FACT provides advice on “obtaining the required licenses from the regulatory body, compliance, drafting and reviewing contracts with service providers (including software, bandwidth and hosting) and employment affairs” and gaming legal support.
The website also states, in Pace’s biography, that he holds the position of director of the LGA – seemingly oblivious to the ethical issues that can arise, when the public sector’s code of ethics defines a conflict of interest as a private interest that is “sufficient to influence or appear to influence” the objective exercise of a public officer’s duties.
Asked to comment on Pace’s status, a finance ministry spokesperson said Pace had declared his private interests to the LGA chairman.
“Mr Pace was clear he was being appointed auditor of a firm which provides recruitment services specialising in the i-gaming sector. This firm is a service to industry, and is not licensed or even regulated in any way by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority.”
The spokesperson added that Pace’s firm do not have gaming clients and have never assisted gaming companies regulated by the LGA. “As such, this does not raise a conflict of interest issue in his role as member of the board. This is more so when, under Malta’s legislation, it is the CEO who is the ‘regulator’ issuing gaming licences to companies.”
According to the public sector’s code of ethics, which applies to government-appointed members as well, officials must exercise independence and strive not to take any “improper advantage” from official information gained in the course of employment.
The code says public officers should “avoid any financial or other interest of undertaking that could directly or indirectly compromise the performance of their duties.”
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