TMR smartcard payment manager jailed in $4m NZ kickbacks, bribery case
An IT manager jailed for three years in New Zealand’s biggest ever private sector bribery case was contracted by Translink, while on bail, to work on its troubled contactless payment system.
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Translink has launched an investigation after becoming aware only last week that a senior manager with its long-delayed contactless payment system had been jailed for corruption in New Zealand.
It confirmed it was now in talks with the external agency which contracted the manager and was reviewing its staff recruitment processes.
Sean Bryan was on bail for charges relating to more than $4m in kickbacks while working for Translink.
He was jailed last month by the New Zealand High Court for three years, along with co-accused Mark Lester.
Mr Lester has never worked for Translink. But it confirmed Mr Bryan was contracted to Translink via an external agency while the frauds were being committed, between 2014 and 2017.
NZ’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) filed charges against the pair in April, 2023, in what was the country’s biggest ever private sector fraud case.
Mr Bryan pleaded guilty in September, 2024 to two representative charges of giving gifts to an agent.
Mr Lester, who was living on the Gold Coast until being jailed, pleaded guilty in October last year to two representative charges of accepting gifts by an agent.
The SFO allowed both men to remain on bail in Australia throughout the years-long prosecution, even after their guilty pleas. They flew to NZ to be sentenced.
It is believed Mr Bryan continued to be contracted to Translink after that time, while on bail.
“Translink last week became aware a contractor who worked on a project has pleaded guilty and been jailed in New Zealand for fraud committed between 2014 and 2017,’’ a spokesman said.
“The person was contracted via an external agency and Translink is working with that agency to understand the details.
“As part of due diligence, Translink is currently reviewing its processes for procuring and contracting staff through external agencies.’’
The contactless payment technology for buses, where commuters pay using credit cards, smart watches or phones, was plagued by nearly seven years of delays.
The technology was rolled out earlier on trains, but also was delayed for years.
Translink staff were left frustrated and puzzled because, according to some, the technology appeared to be ready well ahead of its launch.
Translink has previously blamed the delays on a variety of factors including supply chain problems after the pandemic, changes to the project’s scope and other difficulties.
US-based transport software and hardware giant Cubic, which developed the technology, has experienced delays on multiple ticketing projects around the world.
Ironically, New Zealand introduced its contactless payment system much faster than Translink.
NZ’s Serious Fraud Office said in a statement last month, after Mr Bryan and Mr Lester were sentenced, that the case did not involve foreign bribery.
“This is New Zealand’s largest ever private sector corruption case, involving a publicly listed company providing crucial services to New Zealanders,’’ SFO Director Karen Chang said.
The SFO statement said Mr Lester was contracted in 2013 to advise on, manage and oversee testing associated with a major upgrade to the customer services IT platform of Spark, New Zealand’s largest telecommunications and digital services provider.
Mr Lester, the sole director, shareholder and employee of Spud Consulting Ltd, recommended using Mr Bryan’s company, Victory IT Ltd, to help test upgrades.
The pair knew each other outside of their work, but the relationship was never disclosed.
Based on Mr Lester’s ongoing recommendations, Victory IT Ltd continued to receive contracts and was paid about $21m between March, 2014 and June, 2017.
From June 2014 to May 2017, Mr Bryan made 32 payments totalling about $4.1m from his company to Mr Lester.
There was no commercial basis for these payments, the SFO statement said.
“The payments were made in return for Mr Lester promoting Mr Bryan’s interests. Spark has pursued a civil case against Mr Lester and Mr Bryan to have the money repaid,’’ it said.
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Originally published as TMR smartcard payment manager jailed in $4m NZ kickbacks, bribery case
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