Anti-corruption watchdog to hold new hearings over contracts awarded by V/Line and Metro

Allegations of serious misconduct in the public transport sector will be probed by the state’s corruption watchdog.

Former V/Line chief executive James Pinder was sacked in October last year following corruption allegations. Picture: Alison Wynd

Victoria’s corruption watchdog will resume public hearings over allegations of serious misconduct in the state’s public transport sector.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission says it will call additional witnesses as part of its ongoing major probe in contracts awarded by V/Line and Metro trains.

It comes after V/Line chief executive James Pinder was sacked from his role over allegations he had received kickbacks for helping cleaning company Transclean secure work.

Metro Trains head of fleet operational support Peter Bollas was also sacked over accusations he helped the company secure and hold on to work.

The next round of hearings will examine whether there are ‘systemic problems within government and industry’.

In explosive sittings in October last year, Mr Pinder was revealed in secretly recorded audio of him talking about “top ups” and “sprinkles”, allegedly about rewards for securing work for Transclean.

The commission was also shown evidence of multiple instances in which Transclean managing director George Haritos withdrew thousands of dollars in cash and met up with the V/line executive.

Mr Pinder later claimed the money were payments from a gambling syndicate, although Mr Bollas denied being part of any such syndicate when he was asked to give evidence.

Another round of hearings will now take place on March 29 to examine whether there are systemic problems within government and industry that need to be solved.

IBAC Commissioner Rober Redlich said the first round of hearings had exposed a range of integrity issues.

“The investigation has also raised concerns around the effectiveness of controls associated with the proper delivery of essential cleaning services in the state’s public transport system during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“As part of IBAC’s focus on preventing corruption, the public hearings will consider whether the current systems and controls are sufficient to protect the integrity of the tendering and procurement process, and examine potential systemic issues, including how culture and practices may have contributed.”

The hearings will run for four days in an effort for IBAC to learn how it can prevent corruption over contracts in the industry from happening again.

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