A secret email between the NT’s anti-corruption commissioner and the ICAC Inspector shows Michael Riches asked Bruce McClintock if he should resign in May of last year when domestic violence allegations were first raised against him, but remained in the role, with the allegations only being investigated earlier this month.

The email seeking advice was sent just days before Mr Riches proposed to buy-off his wife’s domestic violence legal proceedings with $20,000 and a formal domestic violence undertaking not to stalk or contact her.

It is unclear what role the prior communication between Mr Riches and Mr McClintock played in Mr Riches’s strategy for saving his job, however it has been confirmed the chief minister as the minister responsible for the ICAC Act and the public did not learn about the allegations until late last month.

The latest revelation in the email has raised a potential conflict of interest in Mr McClintock’s recent investigation into Mr Riches’s conduct, which cleared Mr Riches of improper conduct – including the payment to Ms Riches – but made no determination on the domestic violence allegations.

It has also raised an unanswered question about why both men did not disclose the broader domestic violence allegation to the chief minister at the time.

The Office of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption is responsible for investigating corruption and other misconduct in the Northern Territory public service, including politicians, judges and the police.

The email, first reported by Sky News on Tuesday, shows Mr Riches wrote to Mr McClintock on Saturday May 20, 2023 at 6:47pm to explain that he had been served a DVO application and to seek advice from the Inspector on whether he should resign.

“Yesterday I received a letter demanding the immediate payment of $30,000 for spousal maintenance,” Mr Riches wrote to Mr McClintock.

“On the same day I was served with an application for a domestic violence order. The application is to be heard at 9:30am on Monday May 30.

“I am devastated…

“I wanted to bring this to your attention as I am currently contemplating my future. I have worked incredibly hard to rebuild the reputation of the office in the NT and I do not want to be the reason for causing it more damage. I have made a time to meet with the Chief Minister on Tuesday afternoon. I will endeavour to make a decision by then.

“If, in the circumstances, you think I should step down and resign, then please let me know.”

Mr McClintock refused yesterday to explain what action he took when made aware of the domestic violence allegation in May of last year, why it appeared not to have been investigated at the time and why he did not disclose it to the minister responsible for the ICAC Act.

Instead of providing his response to Mr Riches, Mr McClintock told the NT Independent on Tuesday that “it is not part of the Inspector’s function to give a commissioner advice about whether he should resign or not”.

It was unclear why Mr Riches asked and he did not explain.

Two days after Mr Riches wrote the email to Mr McClintock, his estranged wife Jen Riches was offered $20,000 to drop the Domestic Violence Order application by Mr Riches’s lawyer, which was also contingent on Mr Riches signing a Domestic Violence Undertaking through the NT Local Court not to contact or stalk Ms Riches.

Records show he signed that Domestic Violence Undertaking on May 23.

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But Mr Riches cancelled his meeting with then-chief minister Natasha Fyles on the same day he signed the undertaking and neither he nor Mr McClintock disclosed the broader unresolved domestic violence allegation – or the Domestic Violence Undertaking issued through the court – to the chief minister.

The NT Independent asked Mr McClintock last week – before the email between the pair was made public – why he did not disclose the broader domestic violence allegation to the chief minister at the time.

“There was a court application for a DVO (of which I was informed) which was then withdrawn by the applicant in about two working days,” Mr McClintock said.

“At that point, as far as I can see, then or now, there was no allegation of domestic violence. There was no such allegation once the DVO application had been withdrawn.”

The signed court-ordered Domestic Violence Undertaking – which extends for two years and is still in effect – appears to contradict that assertion.

Asked on Tuesday if this meant that Mr Riches did not disclose the Domestic Violence Undertaking that superseded the DVO application to him, and if Mr McClintock had an obligation to disclose that to the minister or reference it in his recent report, Mr McClintock said: “You compound your misunderstanding. I have no further comment to make”.

Mr McClintock earlier rejected the potential conflict of interest in communicating with Mr Riches about the domestic violence allegation a year before investigating the matter, but again refused to say what his response to Mr Riches was last year when he sought his advice about resigning.

Mr McClintock’s investigation report into Mr Riches’s conduct was delivered to Chief Minister Eva Lawler on June 7, with the caveat that it not be made public due to legal professional privilege claims exerted by Mr Riches and alleged personal health records relating to Mr Riches.

Ms Lawler first provided a summary statement about its contents, but later ordered Mr McClintock to produce a report that could be made public.

That report will be tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

Mr Riches has been on “extended sick leave” since the allegations of domestic violence were first reported by the NT Independent last month. He told Sky News yesterday that he intends to return to work “as soon as I can, in order to complete a number of outstanding investigation reports”.