Australia reports PwC tax document leak to police. Secretary to the Treasury Steven Kennedy revealed the Australian Treasury had submitted a sensitive document leak case involving PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to police.
The government, a PwC Australia client, has accused the firm of using secret knowledge about new anti-tax avoidance tools to win additional business, a grave violation of trust.
PwC Australia “committed to learning for our mistakes” after its CEO resigned last month.
“A wide range of individuals” at the firm were privy to classified Commonwealth information, according to emails submitted in parliament earlier this month.
“In light of these recent revelations and the seriousness of this misconduct, the Treasury has referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police to consider commencement of a criminal investigation,” he added.
A spokeswoman told Reuters that the Australian Federal Police is examining the abuse of classified government information.
PwC said last month that former Telstra and Optus CEO Ziggy Switkowski would lead an independent leak inquiry and submit his findings and recommendations in September.
On Monday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers hinted at crackdowns on similar behavior amid calls to exclude the corporation from government work.
Spokesman for Australian Senators Deborah O’Neill and Andrew Bragg told Reuters they would raise the issue and seek more details during next week’s parliamentary hearings.
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