EXECUTIVES of a Reserve Bank of Australia subsidiary at the centre of a global contracts scandal claimed a Vietnamese agent paid at least $10 million in commissions had "primarily" worked as a translator.
Melbourne-based Securency Pty Ltd won a major contract in 2002 to supply polymer banknotes to Vietnam after hiring a company that employed the son of the governor of the State Bank of Vietnam as its local agent.
Company insiders have revealed that Securency paid large commissions, including some to a Swiss bank account, to the Hanoi-based Company For Technology and Development, or CFTD.
Securency is half-owned by the RBA and supplies polymer material to make banknotes in Australia and 26 other countries.
A 2007 Vietnamese Government corruption inquiry into the Securency deal found it to be "irregular", lacking in transparency and harmful to the reputation of the bank governor, Le Duc Thuy.
In a 2007 interview obtained by The Age, Securency executives said the services provided by CFTD primarily involved translating documents, organising meetings and picking up people from the airport. They said they had no dealings with the central bank governor's son, Le Duc Minh.
The tape recording reveals claims by Securency that Australian embassies had recommended their overseas agents.
Securency is under investigation by the Australian Federal Police over commissions paid to agents to help win contracts from foreign governments.
The Age reported at the weekend that several Securency agents have been previously implicated in corruption inquiries. Securency has also paid agent commissions into offshore tax haven accounts.
Company insiders allege the large commissions paid to agents in corruption-prone countries exposed Securency to allegations money may have been used to pay kickbacks.
During the 2007 interview with a foreign journalist, Securency's managing director, Myles Curtis, refused to confirm whether commissions had been paid to CFTD.
"A lot of the (CFTD's) roles in the early stages were to do with interpreting and translating … so that is the primary role they play. So it is the liaison between the state bank," he said.
Securency's Asia manager, Ron Marchant, said: "They do other things too. If we would like to have a meeting in the state bank or a meeting in the printing works, we just ask them to go and make the appointments for us, arrange hotel accommodation, collect people from airport, things like that that you generally expect an agent to do."
Mr Marchant claimed Australian diplomatic assistance. "All of our agents we appoint we go through the Australian embassy. We get a list of people who they believe we we can work with in reputable organisations and then we would go through the process of investigating or evaluating them and we make a decisions, and in this case, it was CFTD that we decided to run based on … the recommendation from the Australian embassy and … our own evaluation."
Mr Marchant said he had no dealings with the governor's son and was not familiar with the CFTD subsidiary, Banktech, which the son directed.
But Banktech documents show Securency as one of its "overseas partners" and indicate Banktech was the "exclusive supplier" for Vietnam's polymer banknote project.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said last night it had assisted Securency's overseas operations and lobbied governments for the company.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith confirmed that he personally lobbied India, Brazil and Mexico on behalf of Securency due to its strong RBA links.
"On at least one occasion I have made representations on their behalf to have countries contemplate using their expertise in terms of the development of currency," he said.
Mr Smith said he would be happy to detail the representations he had made.
He said the AFP investigation was appropriate following allegations about the company. "That's a matter for the Federal Police and we should await the outcome of their investigation."
The RBA and Treasurer Wayne Swan yesterday declined to answer questions about Securency's use of agents because of the investigation.
With Brendan Nicholson
Melbourne-based Securency Pty Ltd won a major contract in 2002 to supply polymer banknotes to Vietnam after hiring a company that employed the son of the governor of the State Bank of Vietnam as its local agent.
Company insiders have revealed that Securency paid large commissions, including some to a Swiss bank account, to the Hanoi-based Company For Technology and Development, or CFTD.
Securency is half-owned by the RBA and supplies polymer material to make banknotes in Australia and 26 other countries.
A 2007 Vietnamese Government corruption inquiry into the Securency deal found it to be "irregular", lacking in transparency and harmful to the reputation of the bank governor, Le Duc Thuy.
In a 2007 interview obtained by The Age, Securency executives said the services provided by CFTD primarily involved translating documents, organising meetings and picking up people from the airport. They said they had no dealings with the central bank governor's son, Le Duc Minh.
The tape recording reveals claims by Securency that Australian embassies had recommended their overseas agents.
Securency is under investigation by the Australian Federal Police over commissions paid to agents to help win contracts from foreign governments.
The Age reported at the weekend that several Securency agents have been previously implicated in corruption inquiries. Securency has also paid agent commissions into offshore tax haven accounts.
Company insiders allege the large commissions paid to agents in corruption-prone countries exposed Securency to allegations money may have been used to pay kickbacks.
During the 2007 interview with a foreign journalist, Securency's managing director, Myles Curtis, refused to confirm whether commissions had been paid to CFTD.
"A lot of the (CFTD's) roles in the early stages were to do with interpreting and translating … so that is the primary role they play. So it is the liaison between the state bank," he said.
Securency's Asia manager, Ron Marchant, said: "They do other things too. If we would like to have a meeting in the state bank or a meeting in the printing works, we just ask them to go and make the appointments for us, arrange hotel accommodation, collect people from airport, things like that that you generally expect an agent to do."
Mr Marchant claimed Australian diplomatic assistance. "All of our agents we appoint we go through the Australian embassy. We get a list of people who they believe we we can work with in reputable organisations and then we would go through the process of investigating or evaluating them and we make a decisions, and in this case, it was CFTD that we decided to run based on … the recommendation from the Australian embassy and … our own evaluation."
Mr Marchant said he had no dealings with the governor's son and was not familiar with the CFTD subsidiary, Banktech, which the son directed.
But Banktech documents show Securency as one of its "overseas partners" and indicate Banktech was the "exclusive supplier" for Vietnam's polymer banknote project.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said last night it had assisted Securency's overseas operations and lobbied governments for the company.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith confirmed that he personally lobbied India, Brazil and Mexico on behalf of Securency due to its strong RBA links.
"On at least one occasion I have made representations on their behalf to have countries contemplate using their expertise in terms of the development of currency," he said.
Mr Smith said he would be happy to detail the representations he had made.
He said the AFP investigation was appropriate following allegations about the company. "That's a matter for the Federal Police and we should await the outcome of their investigation."
The RBA and Treasurer Wayne Swan yesterday declined to answer questions about Securency's use of agents because of the investigation.
With Brendan Nicholson