ORIX Australia Managing Director and an employee in charge of its fleet leasing business have been charged with allegedly paying corrupt commissions to a Coca-Cola Amatil employee.
The men were arrested as part of Strike Force Englefield, which was established late last year after a major multinational company reported suspicious activity relating to its vehicle fleet.
It will be alleged that hundreds of thousands of dollars in corrupt payments were paid by the fleet-management company to an employee at Coca-Cola Amatil in relation to the leasing of vehicles.
A 61-year old Adelaide man was arrested on 25 March and charged with four counts of receiving corrupt commissions and one account of money laundering. Police allege a bank account had been established in July 2013 for the sole purpose of receiving those funds.
A senior manager at the fleet manager was arrested and charged on 21 April, followed by the CEO of the company on 2 April.
The charges relate to four large deposits made into a bank account in June 2014 and February 2015, totalling $504,900. Police will allege the CEO was aware of the corrupt commissions and had provided advice in relation to how they were paid.
ORIX Group issued a statement in response to the arrests confirming the arrests and its intent to fully cooperate with local state police in its ongoing investigation.
The company expressed its regret that the incident occurred and said that it would be conducting its own internal investigation into the matter with the assistance of outside counsel.
“We take this incident very seriously. In addition to the ongoing investigation into the matter, we also plan to review our management systems within the ORIX Group to ensure best practice is always maintained.”
Further news releases on the matter are expected from ORIX Group once the investigation committee concludes its investigation.
Meanwhile, a Coca-Cola Amatil spokeswoman also confirmed the arrest of its employee in a statement.
“Coca Cola Amatil is providing its complete co-operation and support to the police and whilst the police investigation and court proceedings are on foot it is inappropriate for us to comment further.”
Fraud & Cybercrime Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis said white-collar crime, particularly employee-related fraud, costs NSW economy millions of dollars.
“Through our Corporate Corruption Unit, we will continue to work with the business community to eradicate this issue, and to ensure NSW is a clean slate to do business.”
Police have not ruled out further arrests in relation to the case.
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