'He's just going to be superb': Acquitted tax man lands job days after verdict

Former Tax Office deputy commissioner Michael Cranston has landed a job within days of his acquittal of criminal charges, now providing advice to the same people he scrutinised while employed as a public servant.

A jury last Friday found an emotional Mr Cranston not guilty of misusing his position as a senior public official to benefit his son Adam Cranston following a trial spanning almost three weeks in the NSW District Court.

Michael Cranston and his wife, Gloria, after he was found not guilty of misusing his position to help his son.Credit: Peter Rae

Tania Waterhouse, a former ATO director and colleague of Mr Cranston, said she contacted the 40-year tax office veteran the following Monday, offering him a contract as a tax consultant at her law firm.

"(He was) totally professional and always acted with propriety, which is why I was just astounded by the charges," Ms Waterhouse, who said she has known Mr Cranston for 15 years, told the Herald.

"I'd always believed there was no wrongdoing."

Ms Waterhouse said she engaged Mr Cranston on Monday "only because I couldn't get in contact with him before now" and that she had previously tried to get in touch with him to offer her support.

The jury took two days to exonerate Mr Cranston of dishonestly obtaining information in his capacity as a senior public servant to benefit Adam Cranston, as well as a charge of using his influence to improperly obtain a benefit for his son.

The Crown alleged Mr Cranston had a conflict of interest in following up two requests from Adam Cranston in the first half of 2017.

The court heard Adam Cranston asked his father to look into the nature of any audits the ATO was conducting against Simon Anquetil, a man financially linked to Plutus Payroll with whom Adam had a business relationship.

The jury heard Michael Cranston asked assistant commissioner Scott Burrows to access restricted computer records about Mr Anquetil and report back to him.

The second charge related to Mr Cranston contacting another subordinate, Tony Poulakis, following a request from Adam Cranston to arrange a meeting between Plutus Payroll and the ATO after orders were obtained freezing the payroll firm’s bank accounts and preventing subcontractors from being paid.

Mr Cranston told Mr Poulakis the Plutus Payroll matter was urgent because "people are going to the bloody press" over the accounts being frozen.

Adam Cranston and his sister Lauren Cranston are facing criminal proceedings relating to a conspiracy that involved defrauding the ATO of millions by using Plutus Payroll to syphon off money by setting up tier two companies run by dummy directors.

Ms Waterhouse said that as the trial progressed "it became more and more obvious … there was no evidence to support that Michael had helped his son."

Mr Cranston told media after the verdict that "I was just doing my job, passing on a matter."

"I declared my conflict about my son and that’s what I do everyday," he said.

Mr Cranston said last Friday that he didn't think it was possible to return to work at the ATO, and was instead looking at doing consultancy work.

Ms Waterhouse said Mr Cranston had already begun working on a case and it was her hope that he would eventually become a partner in the firm.

"He and I are going to be a dynamic team, we just can’t stop complimenting each other. He’s just going to be superb," she said.

The trial heard Mr Cranston had experience in investigating wealthy people who drew the attention of the ATO.

Ms Waterhouse said Mr Cranston would now be "on the other side of the table" in undertaking complex audit work, forensic accounting, and providing advice in relation to "high wealth individuals" being audited by the ATO.

"The ATO will be very aware of treating the taxpayer objectively," Ms Waterhouse said.

The Herald was unable to contact Mr Cranston for comment.