The federal treasury has referred the PwC tax scandal, involving former partner Peter Collins, to the Australian federal police for a criminal investigation.
Treasury department secretary Steven Kennedy issued a statement late on Wednesday alleging Collins, PwC’s former head of international tax, “improperly used confidential Commonwealth information”.
The accountancy firm’s former head has been referred for a police investigation in the wake of the scandal around its disclosure of confidential government information about planned tax avoidance measures.
“The emails that the Tax Practitioners Board tabled in parliament on 2 May 2023 highlighted the significant extent of the unauthorised disclosure of confidential Commonwealth information and the wide range of individuals within PwC who were directly and indirectly privy to the confidential information,” Kennedy said in a statement on Wednesday night.
“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.”
PwC said late Wednesday: “We note the statement from the Treasury Secretary and will continue to cooperate fully with any investigations into this matter.”
PwC have been heavily criticised by Labor, Liberal and Greens politicians in federal parliament.
The Labor senator Deborah O’Neill, who was instrumental in obtaining documents that detail the scandal, has said the Australian people deserve to know every senior executive who may have received confidential government information about tax policies.
PwC has announced the businessman Ziggy Switkowski would conduct an investigation into the company’s operations and culture. His report is due by September and could lead to further resignations or sackings.
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“When complete, PwC Australia will share a summary of these key recommendations to ensure transparency,” a company spokesperson has said.
The Greens had called for an AFP investigation.
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