By Megan Gorrey
The NSW corruption watchdog will investigate allegations bureaucrats from the state’s transport agency and an inner Sydney council used their positions dishonestly in awarding contracts to various companies for their own advantage.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption has launched an inquiry, dubbed Operation Hector, to scrutinise the actions of several former employees from Transport for NSW and the Inner West Council, among others. A public hearing later this month has been set down for six weeks.
The corruption watchdog will probe allegations involving several employees from Transport for NSW.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Details of the investigation, published on Thursday, relate to alleged wrongdoing by three public officials from the transport agency, one local council employee, and certain workers from the share market-listed contractor Downer EDI Works. Some allegations date back to 2014.
The commission will investigate whether former Leichhardt Council and Inner West Council employee Tony Nguyen partially or dishonestly exercised his official functions by awarding or recommending council contracts and tenders to companies with which he was linked between 2015 and 2020.
The Inner West Council said it had referred the matter to the anti-corruption commission after “becoming aware of concerns” about Nguyen.
The ICAC alleges some employees of Downer EDI Works have dishonestly obtained a benefit for themselves by favouring certain subcontractors when awarding work arising from contracts that Transport for NSW granted to Downer since 2017.
Transport for NSW officer Benjamin Vardanega is alleged to have dishonestly and partially exercised his public official functions by using information gleaned through his role to help certain contractors tender for work with the agency, or to tender for subcontracts from entities that had been awarded work with the agency, to benefit himself or others, since 2017.
Transport for NSW employee Raja Sanber is alleged to have obtained a financial benefit for himself and others by undertaking contractor or subcontractor work for various entities on Transport for NSW projects, whilst failing to disclose his role in those entities to his employer, since 2014.
Also named in the allegations is fellow Transport for NSW official Nima Abdi. He is accused of dishonestly or partially exercising his functions by using information gained through his official functions to help contractors, with which he had an “undeclared association”, to tender for work with the agency, or to tender for subcontracts from entities that had been awarded work with the agency, to benefit himself and others, since 2014.
The probe will examine whether Transport for NSW employees, and a worker from Downer EDI Works, dishonestly benefited from the payment or use of public funds for their own private advantage. It’s alleged the employees submitted and approved timesheets and invoices for payment in circumstances where no work was carried out in an eight-month period in 2019 and 2020.
The ICAC is also alleging an unnamed Transport for NSW employee misused material or information acquired through his public functions for his own benefit, or for the benefit of Abdi or people linked to him, between 2017 and 2021.
Transport for NSW said staff would cooperate fully with the investigation.
A Downer spokesman said the company was committed “to complying with the law in all jurisdictions in which we operate, as well as maintaining the reputation of Downer and our people for ethical practice”.
Chief Commissioner John Hatzistergos will preside over the hearing from March 20.
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