Financial Crimes Squad detectives have charged two men, including a former employee of the Department of Communities, as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption between contractors and employees at the Department of Communities.
It will be alleged the employee of the Department of Communities, who held a position managing projects relating to country housing and construction, undertook secondary employment with a civil works company without disclosing the secondary employment to his management.
It will be further alleged while maintaining that relationship with the civil works company the employee awarded them projects directly, and chaired tender selection panels that ultimately delivered the civil works company high value contracts without disclosing his conflict of interest.
It will be alleged in 2018 the civil works company was awarded a contract worth just over $1.8 million, and that in return for that work being awarded to them the civil works company provided the employee $70,000 ($55,000 via electronic funds transfer and $15,000 cash).
It will be alleged in 2019 the employee awarded the civil works company four contracts worth a total of just over $350,000, and in return for those contracts the civil works company provided the employee with a BMW sedan worth $18,000 and $10,000 via electronic funds transfer.
The former Department of Communities employee – a 62-year-old Woodvale man – and a 66-year-old Brockman man employed by the civil works company were both arrested last month, and have each been charged with two counts of ‘Public Officer Acts Corruptly in Performance/Discharge of Function’s’. They are both due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court today, Tuesday 16 May 2023.
The BMW has been seized as part of the ongoing investigation.
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