Corruption allegation against WA public servant Paul Whyte could hit $25m - The Australian

The scale of corruption that a West Australian senior public servant allegedly perpetrated has leapt from $2.5 million to possibly $25 million, a Perth court has been told.

Paul Whyte, 56, was making his first appearance in Perth Magistrates’ Court after being charged with two counts of official corruption after a joint WA Police and Corruption and Crime Commission investigation.

The now-suspended assistant director general of the Department of Communities was charged with a second man, Jacob Daniel Anthonisz, 43, over allegations that false invoices – amounting to around $2.5 million over two years – were presented to Mr Whyte’s own department and the money siphoned into company bank accounts for their own personal use.

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But in a dramatic move, the court heard that WA Police and CCC investigations have revealed evidence that the sum may be as high as $20-25m and the alleged scam was perpetrated as far back as 2008, including while Mr Whyte was head of the Housing department.

Mr Whyte supervised audit and integrity audits within Communities, which now incorporates housing, child protection, family support and other welfare functions.

The court heard the invoices, averaging one a month, were just below the $50,000 threshold over which he would need further departmental authorisation to have them paid.

Premier Mark McGowan said the bigger sum of alleged corruption raised in court on Friday, “if proven, is absolutely appalling and a complete betrayal of West Australians.”

He denied that faith in the state’s public service was now in crisis over three corruption allegations involving public servants in recent years.

He said the CCC investigation had come about because of “beefed up” investigative powers and the Commission’s new “unexplained wealth provisions” that allow it to freeze assets, introduced last year.

Two luxury properties owned by Mr Whyte were raided on Thursday, one of which was bought for $2.9 million in 2012. The properties have been placed under freezing orders.

Police prosecutors opposed bail, saying the investigation was ongoing. They said the pair had a longstanding friendship and had spent the money on buying racehorses, paying a horse stud in New Zealand, and personal expenses and bills.

The two men were granted bail.

Senior Reporter

Perth

Victoria Laurie is a senior reporter and feature writer in the Perth bureau of The Australian newspaper. A former TV and radio journalist, she has also been a freelance writer for The Bulletin, The Monthly, HQ,... Read more

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