Transport for NSW employee stood down, amid ICAC investigation into crypto kickbacks for road safety

At least one employee at Transport for NSW has been stood down amid an ongoing ICAC-led investigation into whether they received millions of dollars in kickbacks for procurement deals.

An image from the Protection Barriers website.

Exclusive: At least one employee at Transport for NSW has been stood down amid an ongoing ICAC-led investigation into whether they received millions of dollars in kickbacks for procurement deals.

The secret probe resulted in raids last month on Protection Barriers, near Grafton – one of the NSW’s biggest road-safety companies – and also at properties in Sydney’s west.

The Daily Telegraph understands at least one of those addresses in Sydney was linked to the Transport for NSW employee.

Sources said officers from the NSW Police State Crime Command were involved in the raids, as was the powerful yet highly secretive NSW Crime Commission.

It is understood one element of the ICAC investigation are allegations employees at Transport for NSW were bribed with millions of dollars in cryptocurrency by companies in return for procure­ment deals.

An image from the Protection Barriers website.

ICAC’s raids at Protection Barriers’ office and storage yards is believed to have resulted in close to $30m in assets being seized, including a variety of luxury vehicles – among them two Bentley cars.

In the weeks since those raids, Protection Barriers has shut down its social media accounts and its phone is now unanswered.

Sources said all staff who worked for the company had been left out of a job.

Protection Barriers was previously mentioned during ICAC hearings for Operation Paragon – an investigation into Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) and Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) employees receiving kickbacks for the awarding of contracts.

There was no allegation of wrongdoing against Protection Barriers, but rather the company was discussed during the hearings as a third party, which was paid to complete work initially contracted to other businesses.

In one example raised during the investigation in 2021, ICAC heard Protection Barriers received $74,000 to install wire ropes – commonly seen dividing major highways – on a road in regional NSW.

The company that had outsourced the contract to them, however, had originally received more than $180,000 in taxpayer funding to do the job.

An image from the Protection Barriers website.

The ICAC probe unearthed corrupt conduct by RTA and RMS employees who, for more than a decade, had received kickbacks from companies they awarded contracts to. There were no allegations of wrongdoing against Protection Barriers during Operation Paragon.

Government records show Protection Barriers has been awarded two significant deals in recent years. One of those was initially set to see them paid $2.2m but was later increased to $104m for a further six years, through to 2025.

The Daily Telegraph does not suggest any wrongdoing by Protection Barriers in light of the recent search warrants. The company has been contacted for comment.

ICAC refused to comment on any investigation, while Transport for NSW said it did “not comment on matters that may be being considered by the NSW ICAC”.

Originally published as Transport for NSW employee stood down, amid ICAC investigation into crypto kickbacks for road safety