Questions have been asked about investments made by the head of Development Bank of Wales.
Giles Thorley is chief executive of Development Bank of Wales, which is taxpayer owned through the Welsh Government.
It has emerged that he has invested in two firms Zip World and Lovetovisit.com.
Before investing in Zip World, he first asked for approval from the board of the development bank to invest and to become the Gwynedd-based firm’s chairman. However, he did not get prior approval from the development bank’s board before investing in Lovetovisit.com.
Read more: Why Development Bank of Wales executives shouldn't be allowed to personally invest in Welsh firms
That is not breaking any rules, according to a Development Bank for Wales spokeswoman, as she said the bank did not have an investments in either firm. But Plaid has raised concerns in the Senedd - questioning whether Mr Thorley risks being both "judge and jury".
In a statement, she said: "The Development Bank of Wales operates within the requirements of the Companies Act and the register of interests for the Board is maintained and held by the Company Secretary. Our Chief Executive Giles Thorley has been an active angel and SME investor for over 15 years with an interest in tech, hospitality and tourism.
"Colleagues are not required to obtain approval for personal investments in companies which are not in receipt of investment from the Development Bank but are required to take all reasonable steps to identify and manage conflicts of interest. Executives are required to obtain agreement prior to taking up new roles and in the case of Zip World, agreement was sought and obtained prior to taking on the role of Chair. Neither company is in receipt of investment from the Development Bank of Wales."
In plenary on December 7, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price asked the First Minister: "First Minister, the chief executive of the Development Bank of Wales has been making personal investments in companies based in Wales without seeking prior approval of the board. Is that something you, as First Minister, are comfortable with?"
Mr Drakeford responded saying that if a suggestion of impropriety then it would be investigated.
Mr Price said that while there is evidence Mr Thorley wrote to the then-Minister for the economy before taking up his paid role as the chair of Zip World there isn't for the second investment.
"Why was the same principle not applied to his investment in the Cardiff-based start-up Love to Visit? Can I ask you a fairly basic point of principle, First Minister, if it is stipulated that Mr Thorley, who is already among the highest paid employees of any publicly funded body in Wales, should not invest in companies using knowledge or networks he has acquired through his work at the development bank? Wouldn't you agree with me that it's not an assessment that Mr Thorley should be able to make, effectively as judge and jury in his own case?"
Mr Drakeford agreed, saying: "Any person is carrying out work on behalf of the public interest in Wales and is in a publicly appointed position to do so, then they are bound by rulebooks that are not of their own making, nor should they be the sole arbiter of whether they are complying with those rulebooks.
"I'm not familiar with the detail of the decisions that are made by the chief executive of the Development Bank of Wales in the way that the leader of Plaid Cymru is. If there are specific concerns that ought to be investigated, then they need to be brought to the attention of the Government and then they will receive that attention."
Mr Price quoted former First Minister Rhodri Morgan: "'Business does not just have to be done, it has to be seen to be done. That is well-nigh impossible when you have inter-locking relationships'. It's not enough to say that these matters are just for the board".
Mr Thorley is not issuing any personal response. Welsh Government also declined to comment.
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