Ex-anti-corruption chief ‘had a thing for pretty girls in the office’

An investigation into former Northern Territory anti-corruption commissioner Michael Riches, based on allegations of “inappropriate behaviour”, has featured alarming findings.

The results of nearly a yearlong probe into the alleged conduct of former NT anti-corruption commissioner Michael Riches have finally been released to the public in the form of an executive summary into allegations of “inappropriate behaviour.”

The Commissioner for Public Employment published a redacted version of the investigation into allegations against Riches, which contained alarming admissions from 18 interviewees, with at least 15 of them describing Riches’ leadership style as “erratic, micromanaging, controlling, distrustful, dis­proportionate and socially awkward”.

As previously reported by HR Leader, during the yearlong investigation, Riches remained on leave, still receiving his almost half-a-million-dollar salary until the culmination of the investigation. Riches promptly resigned from his position at the conclusion of the report, just 11 days before its release to the public.

Of the 18 interviewees, just three spoke positively about Riches’ leadership, with the remainder being critical of his behaviour. One of the interviewees who did speak positively, however, said that Riches “had a thing for pretty girls in the office”.

A male interviewee somewhat concurred with this theme, saying that Riches “was not very engaging” on a social and professional level, admitting that he was unsure if Riches was “…standoffish with the males in the office… or whether he is just more comfortable in having friendships and communicating with females in the office”.

“But to my mind, something is off about his approach to female staff,” the male interviewee said.

In terms of Riches’ leadership style, one interviewee described the office environment as “… the most horrible place I’ve ever worked in.”

Riches denied the submissions listed in the investigation in relation to his leadership and engagement with staff, saying the allegations were “tenuous, emblematic of trivial workplace grievances”, with some cases being too old to be investigated.

Riches said that the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption office was “already in disarray and a shambles” years before his arrival. He also provided 13 references from former colleagues that “presented a very different picture” to the experiences of the interviewees.

Despite this, it was said in the report that although some of the interviewees may have “had an axe to grind,” the investigator found it unlikely that all of them could be described as being motivated by “bad faith”.

It was found that five allegations were substantiated, with three not being “factually substantiated”. Riches was therefore found to have been in breach of public sector principles, thus breaching his obligations as CEO.

Domestic violence allegations

Riches was also previously investigated for “corrupt conduct” based on domestic violence allegations, which claimed that he attempted to pay off his wife with $20,000, incentivising her to drop a domestic violence order application made back in May 2023.

He was cleared of “corrupt conduct” by inspector Bruce McClintock SC; however, it was later revealed that there had been correspondence between both McClintock and Riches via a “secret email”, with the latter asking if he should resign when the domestic violence allegations were originally brought against him.

According to NT Independent, the email seeking advice from McClintock was sent only days prior to the alleged proposal to buy off his wife to drop her domestic violence case.