Former PwC partner Richard Gregg sues firm over his removal following tax leaks scandal

Richard Gregg has begun legal action against the firm, claiming he was defamed and forced out of the company, suffering significant financial loss.

Former PwC partner Richard Gregg. Picture: Britta Campion

A former PwC Australia partner has begun legal action against the firm, claiming he was defamed and forced out of the professional services organisation, suffering significant financial loss as a result.

Richard Gregg, a former tax partner with PwC, lodged papers with the Federal Court on Wednesday taking aim at his former firm and one-time boss Kristin Stubbins.

In a lengthy court claim, Mr Gregg alleges he was repeatedly defamed by PwC through several media releases issued by the firm, which the former partner claims owed him fiduciary ­duties. The case comes in the wake of Mr Gregg’s removal from PwC, after the firm was racked by turmoil when the audit and consulting giant was revealed to have repeatedly and systematically misused confidential tax briefings to construct strategies for clients.

This came after former PwC tax partner Peter Collins shared confidential government tax briefings within the firm, ahead of the introduction of new tax laws in 2016 aimed at forcing multinational companies to pay more tax in Australia.

Mr Gregg claims PwC sought to remove him as part of its attempts to show a response to the tax scandal. However, he claims the firm did not disclose this to him, with Ms Stubbins and fellow PwC partner Marcus Laithwaite, a current board member of the firm’s governance board, both directing him to go on leave.

Mr Gregg claims PwC subsequently connected him to the tax scandal, after publishing multiple media releases that obliquely made reference to a group of partners directed to stand down from the firm in connection to the tax scandal.

However, Mr Gregg alleges PwC subsequently confirmed he was not connected to the tax scandal, with the NSW Supreme Court finding the firm did not “assert” a connection between him and the scandal when it attempted to push him out of the partnership.

Lawyers for Mr Gregg claim the firm defamed him, despite hiring a number of PR advisers, including Sue Cato.

“Any imputations to the ­effect that Mr Gregg shared ­confidential government information or was otherwise involved in the tax scandal would, in the context within which the May media release was published, be likely to be destructive of Mr Gregg’s personal and professional reputation,” Mr Gregg claims.

Lawyers for Mr Gregg said: “PwC never apologised to Mr Gregg for publishing the July media release and, in doing so, wrongly associating him with the PwC tax scandal, and it never took any steps to clarify or correct the July media release or clarify or correct the media reports associating Mr Gregg with the PwC tax scandal.”

His lawyers also say PwC never attempted to interview Mr Gregg, despite Ms Stubbins and Mr Laithwaite noting he would be interviewed “as part of PwC’s independent review” into the tax scandal.

Mr Gregg’s court claims note PwC was aware he had “held a position in PwC’s Tax & Legal Leadership team at the time of the relevant tax leaks” and that the partner was instead leader of research and development between 2015 and 2016.

“He had only held a leadership position within the ‘Private Clients Practice’ which is separate to the Tax & Legal Practice which was responsible for the tax scandal,” the papers note.

The former veteran PwC partner claims as a result of PwC’s ­actions he suffered damage as well as “substantial distress, embarrassment and hurt”.

He also claims he suffered “serious harm to his personal and professional reputation” and “economic loss”.

The court papers say Mr Gregg seeks equitable compensation from PwC”.