Geoff Bainbridge has recently been thrust into the spotlight after resigning from his position of CEO of Lark Distillery as a result of videos that emerged of him online smoking out of purported drug paraphernalia.
While Bainbridge claimed that the videos were an extortion racket that was taken in South East Asia in 2015, photos have recently resurfaced that link the furniture in the background of the video to the former CEO’S Melbourne home.
The viral video in question shows Bainbridge lighting up a glass pipe and saying, “Let’s get fucking high together baby. I’d smoke meth and just blow it all over your c**t, babe.”
Since the video was released and the news went mainstream, the ASX-listed distillery has lost more than $70 million, leaving shareholders and investors out of pocket.
Now, The Australian has reported that the Lark Distillery was told in December 2019 Bainbridge – who held the role of the company’s chief executive at the time – was allegedly a “coke head”.
A letter obtained by the news outlet allegedly shows the correspondence between Lark Distillery’s major shareholder Chris Malcolm to Lark chairman David Deerie and secretary Melanie Leydin that showed concerns about potential drug by Bainbridge.
In the letter, Malcolm allegedly tells staff, shareholders and suppliers that Mr Bainbridge was a “coke head”.
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“(Board directors) Laurent Ly and Warren Randle were told these stories directly from Bill Lark [the distillery’s founder and ambassador ],” Mr Malcom’s letter reads, according to The Australian.
“You are aware of this and I saw it as being damaging to the board directors of Australian Whisky Holding and detrimental to the shareholders.”
However, Lark has not confirmed the report, telling the newspaper that reports that Mr Bainbridge had a drug problem were “not true,” adding “I wouldn’t have known that.”
When asked about the new allegations, the distillery has said they’ve been “made aware of new information that has been recently reported in the media.”
The board clarified that they will “determine if further action is required”.
Bainbridge co-founded the popular burger franchise Grill’d in 2004, and until recently, has recently worked for Lark Distillery. He also counts successful sock brand Happy Socks and Australian jewellery brain Samantha Wills among his success stories.
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