A recruitment agency boss has defended her company’s dealings with King Gaming - and insisted her firm was not party to any wrongdoing.

McKenzie Fox, founded by the ex-wife of Chief Minister Alfred Cannan, is named in a Bloomberg report into how the Isle of Man fell into an international gambling scandal which saw the island’s e-gaming sector infiltrated by Asian scam gangs.

Bloomberg’s investigation, based on a cache of emails from King Gaming, claims authorities ignored warning signs and the concerns raised by whistleblowers.

King Gaming was raided by police in April 2024 in what Bloomberg describes as the largest law enforcement operation in the island’s history. Seven people were arrested but to date no one has been charged with any offence.

Bloomberg’s article states that recruitment agency McKenzie Fox was paid at least £76,500 for on-island recruitment services for companies within the King Gaming group.

At that time, then Treasury Minister Mr Cannan was a shareholder and director in McKenzie Fox which had been founded by his now ex-wife Bella Whitbread.

Mr Cannan, however, has had no active client-facing role in the company since 2011 and is no longer a director or shareholder. The couple’s divorce was finalised in February this year.

Ms Whitbread said she wanted to clarify ‘inaccuracies’ in the Bloomberg article.

She said: ‘The figure referred to in the Bloomberg article is broadly correct and reflects recruitment fees earned by McKenzie Fox for services provided to companies within the King Gaming group, resulting in approximately 12 hires.

‘Those fees were invoiced following successful placements. Our engagement with the King Gaming group commenced in May 2018 until mid-2021.

‘However, McKenzie Fox did not invoice King Gaming Ltd. The invoices were issued to other companies within the group structure.

‘It was well known that McKenzie Fox provided recruitment services to companies within the King Gaming group.

‘The characterisation of McKenzie Fox as the exclusive on-island recruiter is misleading.

‘Whilst we held exclusive status for a specific period, the business simultaneously used off-island recruiters for many of the same roles throughout our relationship, and latterly we worked competitively with other on-island recruiters. This was a standard commercial arrangement, consistent with our work for other clients.’

She added: ‘McKenzie Fox's relationship with the King Gaming group of companies came to an end in 2021. Our work with the group reduced following the departure of our principal contact.

‘To my knowledge, McKenzie Fox was not party to any wrongdoing at any stage. I have not knowingly misled anyone. Any suggestion to the contrary is false.’

Ms Whitbread said Mr Cannan had been a shareholder and director of the firm, but his active operational and client-side involvement ceased 2011 upon his election as an MHK and appointment as chairman of the Civil Service Commission.

Any involvement in the firm's recruitment activities after that date could be perceived as a conflict of interest given his role as chairman of the Civil Service Commission, which oversees public sector appointments and employment matters, she explained.

Bloomberg’s report claims the government’s drive to attract new business left it exposed to exploitation by criminal gangs.

And it highlights what appears to be a ‘revolving door’ between the regulators and the companies they were meant to be overseeing.

The Bloomberg report quotes Miss Whitbread as now having a ‘blanket approach’ not to deal with Asian gaming firms.

But she told IoM Today that this was not intended as a criticism of an entire sector or region.

She said: ‘The reality is that, where concerns are reported in relation to overseas businesses and associated entities operating within wider ownership structures, there can be practical limits to the level of visibility. No business readily turns away revenue or commercial opportunities without good reason.

‘McKenzie Fox has responsibilities to candidates, clients, and its own compliance obligations. Where sufficient due diligence is not possible, we may withdraw from certain markets and geographical locations.’