Candidates claim that Concentric Advisors, the company that conducted interviews for Gates Ventures, inquired about their sexual past, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at a panel discussion on day two of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, participated. From May 22 to May 26, political figures, business titans, and famous people will assemble in Davos.

According to a recent allegation, women who were interviewing for positions with Bill Gates’ private office were asked questions about their sexual histories, drug use, and other aspects of their private lives

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Concentric Advisors, a security consulting company entrusted with screening job candidates for Gates Ventures, allegedly questioned several women about their private lives while performing background checks.

According to the WSJ, only female applicants for jobs with Gates’ private office claimed to have had these questions asked of them.

According to a Gates spokeswoman in a statement received by PEOPLE, the recruiting process “is conducted with the utmost respect for every candidate, with a zero-tolerance policy for all participants, including service providers, who break this principle.”

The independent background check procedure, according to the spokeswoman, is “identical for men and women.”

Candidates informed the WSJ that the company, Concentric Advisors, questioned them about their preferences in porn, if they had ever had an extramarital affair, and whether they had any nude smartphone pictures of themselves. Some claimed being asked if they had ever “danced for dollars,” and one recalled being questioned about having ever had an STD.

Gates Ventures’ representative told the WSJ that she was unaware of any such inquiries being made by Concentric Advisors during background checks, but added that the “line of questioning would be unacceptable and a violation of Gates Ventures’ agreement with the contractor.”

In a statement, she claimed, “We have never received evidence from any vendor or interviewee that inappropriate questions were asked throughout the screening process in our 15+ year history. “We can confirm that no employment offer has ever been withdrawn due to information of this nature, according to a thorough review of our records.”

The spokesperson added that pre-employment screening legislation and other state and federal laws and regulations must be followed by contractors.

According to the report, a Concentric spokeswoman also refuted reports that the business asked applicants such questions during interviews.

Requests for comment from PEOPLE were not immediately answered by Concentric Advisors.

Candidates who claimed that these questions were posed by interviewers told the WSJ that they thought the interviewers were looking for information that could be used to blackmail those who would be closely collaborating with Gates.

A representative for Concentric told the newspaper that the company’s security checks determine “a candidate’s truthfulness and vulnerability to blackmail, which often starts with voluntary statements by the candidate and follow-up questions by company interviewers.”

Candidates who spoke with the WSJ, however, claimed that they were required to pass the employer’s exam in order to be hired and did not volunteer the sensitive information they were asked about.

According to a consent form seen by the outlet, the behavioral exam, which is meant to “assess suitability for employment,” inquires about past use of drugs, alcohol, prescription medications, and mental health issues.

Candidates who signed the agreement authorized the release of the findings, including “highly sensitive information,” to Gates’ private office, according to the article. The “re-disclosure of sexually transmitted diseases,” however, is not allowed.

The WSJ revealed last month that notorious billionaire Jeffrey Epstein had threatened to reveal Gates’ alleged affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova in 2017.

The email seemed to suggest that if a connection between the two men was not kept up, Epstein, who committed suicide while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, may reveal the purported link.

Another WSJ report claims that Gates was also under investigation by Microsoft for an ongoing relationship with a staff member that was revealed in 2019 by the staff member. According to reports, the couple started dating in 2000.

In the end, Gates resigned from the Microsoft board, but he insisted that this was not because of the probe. A Gates representative responded in a statement received by PEOPLE in May 2021 that the billionaire “had actually expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier.”

In a statement released on Thursday, a representative for Gates claims that “any implication of a connection between Bill Gates’ personal history” and the background investigation procedure in question “is outrageous.”