ATO boss coached staff to say alleged fraud was mainly ‘fake news’

STAFF at the ATO have been instructed on how to respond to questions about the scandal engulfing their workplace by insisting it’s actually good news.

ATO deputy commissioner Michael Cranston will appear in court next month.

STAFF at the Australian Taxation Office have reportedly been instructed on how to respond to questions about the scandal engulfing their workplace by insisting it was actually a good news story.

The acting commissioner of taxation Andrew Mills, who last week fronted for the agency when details of the alleged $165 million scam emerged, met with staff late last week and gave them ideas about the best way to deal with queries.

The Australianreported he told staff to dismiss most of it as “fake news” and insist the rest of it was positive, because the alleged fraud was caught and any wrongdoing was picked up relatively quickly.

“Things are working,” he was reported as telling staff in a series of meetings.

However, a spokeswoman for the ATO denied the claim.

“This is simply incorrect. Acting Commissioner Mills has reiterated with his staff, the success of the AFP operation, the importance of ATO’s support for their investigations and that the ATO systems, controls and procedures worked effectively,” the spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, a number of properties have been seized through a court order as authorities move on the assets owned by some of the people charged over the massive tax scam.

The Bondi apartment of 30-year-old Adam Cranston and a Vaucluse home worth over $2 million he also has an interest in have been frozen, according to Fairfax.

Also part of the seizure is an office block reportedly worth $20 million.

Properties linked to Adam Cranston have been frozen by a court order.

The NSW Supreme Court last week issued restraining orders on dozens of properties at the request of the Australian Federal Police.

Adam Cranston has been charged with fraud and his father, deputy tax commissioner Michael Cranston, has been given a court attendance notice to face a charge of abusing his position as a public official.

Police allege Michael Cranston tried to access information on an ATO audit into his son.

Investigators recorded a number of phone conversations in which Mr Cranston warned Adam Cranston he was at risk of being raided by police.

According to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, police taped Mr Cranston in three phone calls on April 28 and May 2 and heard him telling his son “you could be the subject of search warrants”.

The senior tax investigator warned his son that ATO investigators were good at their jobs, saying “you think you get away with this stuff but you don’t ... just make sure you haven’t got anything anywhere”.

On Wednesday, Adam Cranston was charged by police who claim he masterminded an alleged tax scam which deprived the Commonwealth of millions of dollars by skimming payroll tax to fund a lavish lifestyle of luxury cars, properties, planes, jewellery and expensive wine.

The AFP has said it does not believe Michael Cranston knew about his son’s alleged activities beyond the warnings he issued over the phone.