PwC Australia’s head office raided by Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police have raided PwC Australia’s head office in Sydney after a joint parliamentary committee revealed the company’s international arm was “withholding critical information about the [tax law] scandal within their walls”.
The raid was in relation to the alleged sharing of confidential government tax laws with international tech clients, including Meta and Google, which was made public in 2023, after a Senate committee released a number of emails that detailed the plan.
Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy said PwC partner Peter Collins had “improperly used confidential Commonwealth information” in order to help its clients dodge future tax laws that PwC helped draft, adding, “the Treasury has referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police to consider commencement of a criminal investigation.”
Last week, a parliamentary committee uncovered documents that revealed that PwC International stepped in last May to control and supress the local scandal.
A letter from global general counsel Diana Weiss blasted PwC Australian for causing a “breakdown of trust and confidence in the firm, and damage to PwC’s reputation”.
The international office demanded to control PwC Australia’s responses to regulatory and legal inquiries, threatening them with expulsion from the global business if they didn’t comply.
“The firm shall not provide to any regulator or other governmental or legal authority any formal, significant or substantive submissions or responses (whether oral or written) regarding any of the Topics until the Network Representative and I have reviewed and approved the materials,” Weiss wrote.
Less than a week after these documents were revealed, the Federal Police have stepped in.
“These documents demonstrate, in crystal-clear detail, the lengths to which PwC International went in its attempt to inhibit transparency and accountability in the wake of the tax leaks scandal, and the revelation of Mr Peter John Collins’ misuse of confidential Australian government information,” said committee chair Senator Deborah O’Neill.
“The documents show how PwC International threatened its Australian arm with expulsion from the global franchise if it dared to freely co-operate with the legitimate inquiries of this parliament.
“This is a blatant and deeply inappropriate form of intimidation.”
Senator Barbara Pocock said that “PwC operatives, whether local or global, are sadly all too consistent in a pattern of withholding critical information about the scandal within their walls.
“They resist requests for information, push for confidentiality, and manipulate legal professional privilege where they can. Australians deserve better.”
A PwC spokesperson confirmed the AFP raided its offices on Monday, explaining the police action “is part of the existing investigation that began in 2023 regarding the historical tax matter, and is an investigation into individuals who have left the firm.
“We have been working with the Australian Federal Police to facilitate their attendance and will continue to fully co-operate with their investigation, as we have from the beginning.
“Out of respect for the AFP’s work, we won’t be commenting further.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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