The ATO and the Integrity Commission issued a joint media release on 5.7.22 saying that two individuals – one a former ATO employee and the other, the person alleged to have paid a bribe, faced Parramatta Local Court on 5 July 2022 in relation to alleged corruption offences as part of Operation Barker (the ‘Integrity Commission’ is the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity).
It was alleged in court that the former ATO employee accepted a bribe of $150,000 from a taxpayer they were auditing to reduce personal and business tax debts of that taxpayer, in excess of $6 million dollars.
- The former ATO employee was later charged with receiving a corrupting benefit as a Commonwealth public official, and unauthorised access to computer data under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
- A civilian associate, who also appeared at Parramatta Local Court, was charged with providing a corrupting benefit to a Commonwealth public official, and bribery of a Commonwealth public official under the Criminal Code. The maximum penalty for these offences is 10 years imprisonment.
- The Integrity Commission, with the assistance of ATO, Australian Federal Police and NSW Police, executed search warrants at a number of residential and business premises in Sydney and surrounding suburbs on 9 June 2022.
Ms Jaala Hinchcliffe, the Integrity Commissioner and head of Integrity Commission said, “Operation Barker is a strong example of joint-agency collaboration and commitment to preventing and investigating corruption issues. The investigation has resulted in the first arrest of an ATO employee for corruption related offences since the ATO came within Integrity Commission’s jurisdiction.” From 1 January 2021, Integrity Commission’s jurisdiction was expanded to include conduct of ATO staff members which relates to the performance of a law enforcement function. Operation Barker was launched in September 2021. The investigation is active and ongoing.
Mr Chris Jordan, Commissioner of Taxation, said the ATO had undertaken a thorough and robust internal investigation under Operation Barker to ensure taxpayer affairs have not and will not be compromised by any alleged criminal activity. “The ATO has robust frameworks, policies and procedures in place to support a culture of professionalism and high ethical standards. These structures are in place because the community rightly expects the highest levels of integrity from the ATO,” Mr Jordan said.
The Integrity Commission
The Integrity Commission is supported by the ATO, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), NSW Police Force (NSWPF), the Department of Home Affairs, and assisted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).
The Integrity Commission is committed to preventing and investigating corruption issues relating to Commonwealth law enforcement agencies. The Integrity Commission supports the Integrity Commissioner to provide independent assurance to government about the integrity of prescribed law enforcement agencies and their staff members. The office of the Integrity Commissioner and Integrity Commission are established by the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006.
For more information, visit Integrity Commission’s website aclei.gov.au
[ATO website – Joint Media Release (Last Modified 5.7.22); LTN 125, 5/7/22]
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