A Melbourne man has been sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment after attempting to bribe Commonwealth officers in 2019.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested and charged the 36-year-old man following a referral from the Australian Border Force (ABF).
The 36-year-old Hughesdale man met two ABF Officers on 1 May 2019, where he sought one officer’s assistance in arranging future illegal importations of tobacco. The ABF subsequently referred the matter to the AFP for investigation.
The AFP executed a search warrant at the man’s home in Hughesdale, Victoria on Wednesday 17 July 2019 and arrested him for offering a bribe to a Commonwealth public official.
He was later formally charged with:
◾ One count of dishonestly offering to provide benefit to a Commonwealth public official with the intention of influencing the Commonwealth public official in the exercise of their duties, contrary to section 141.1 Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The man appeared before the Melbourne County Court yesterday (Monday, 12 October) where he was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment. The sentence was suspended with the man released on a good behaviour bond for a period of 36 months.
