New York (AP)-Microsoft Corp. board members made a decision in 2020 that it is inappropriate for co-founder Bill Gates to continue as a board member because they investigated this billionaire. The previous relationship between the millionaire and a female Microsoft employee was deemed inappropriate according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Citing an unnamed source, the Wall Street Journal reported online on Sunday that the board member investigating the matter hired a law firm to investigate at the end of 2019 after a Microsoft engineer claimed in a letter that she and Gates Have had sex.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Gates resigned before the end of the board investigation on the grounds that another person familiar with the matter.

A Gates spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, admitted to the Wall Street Journal that the incident was nearly 20 years ago and ended “friendly”. The spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal, “His decision to withdraw from the board of directors has nothing to do with this issue.”

When Gates left the Microsoft board last year, he said he was resigning to focus on charity.

Microsoft could not immediately comment.

Earlier this month, Bill and Melinda Gates announced that they would divorce after 27 years of marriage, but they will continue to work together on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (one of the largest charitable foundations in the world). Gates was once the richest man in the world, and his wealth is estimated to exceed 100 billion U.S. dollars.

Earlier on Sunday, the New York Times reported that Gates had established a “reputation of suspicious behavior in work-related environments.”

The Times reported that Gates paid tribute to women who worked at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on at least a few occasions. The Times cited people who have direct knowledge of his behavior.