An IT consultant swindled $1.6 million from a council in Melbourne’s west by approving shoddy applications for work from other companies he owned, regularly exchanging emails with himself, in what Victoria’s public sector watchdog labelled a “childlike sham”.
The consultant’s ability to evade the council’s checks and balances over almost two years, detailed in a Victorian Ombudsman’s report released on Wednesday, sparked a warning to all Victorian councils that corruption can “flourish” without proper oversight and transparency.
An IT consultant approved $1.6 million in work for himself over almost two years.Credit:iStock
The Ombudsman has recommended the man be referred to police and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for investigation.
Melton City Council hired the man, given the moniker “Mr M” in the report, as a staffer whose role included procuring IT work from outside companies.
Using other companies he owned, Mr M sent poor value quotes to give the impression he was considering multiple tender applications.
He used his council role to hand the contract to another one of his companies, MK Datanet Pty Ltd, despite it not filling the mandatory requirements.
Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass released the investigation on Wednesday.Credit:Penny Stephens
The occupational health and safety policy in the winning application, for example, was copied from another industry and made reference to herding livestock and windmill maintenance.
Ombudsman Deborah Glass found in her investigation that Mr M was was not given an induction when hired and was largely left to his own devices, “in no part due to the technical nature of his role”.
Ms Glass said Mr M told investigators he viewed following proper processes, such as declaring any conflicts of interest, as “just a formality”.
“He did not take signing the forms seriously and he did not at the time think he was doing anything wrong,” she said.
At one point he told investigators: “When you’re in a company and you see some opportunity, yes, I accept that yes, I did that. But yeah, the intention initially was not to do that.”
Ms Glass said Melton City Council’s failures should serve as a wake-up call to other councils and public sector agencies.
“The sham was so childlike at times, Mr M even sent responses for quotes to himself under the guise of fake identities,” Ms Glass said.
“The charade that he was not connected with the company was maintained to the end – when the company thanked him for working with them and asked for a reference.
“His multiple breaches of council policies went undetected at the expense of ratepayers’ money.
“It is staggering that proper checks and balances were not followed and he was able to deceive the council for as long as he did.”
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