Two employees at Ernst & Young (EY), one of the world's largest consultancy firms, have been charged with allegedly breaking into Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's personal bank account. The graduate-level staff members are accused of accessing the Prime Minister's restricted banking data without permission or professional justification.
Details of the Alleged Offences
The two Sydney men, aged 21 and 25, were charged on May 6 with privacy-related offences. The younger man faces one count of unauthorised access to or modification of restricted data, and an additional charge of distributing personal information in a manner that would be considered menacing or harassing. The older man is charged with causing unauthorised access to restricted data intending that access and knowing it was unauthorised. Both have been granted bail and are scheduled to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday.
Employment Consequences and Responses
The two individuals have been dismissed from their positions at EY, according to 7NEWS. Both EY and Commonwealth Bank, where the alleged breaches occurred, declined to comment on the matter. A CommBank spokesperson stated, "It is not appropriate for us to comment on individual contractor matters."
Second Big Four Firm Hit by Scandal
This incident follows a separate scandal at KPMG Australia, another of the "big four" accounting firms. Audit partners Paul Rogers and Eileen Hoggett allegedly accessed confidential information from long-term client Lendlease to win additional contracts. A whistleblower revealed the misconduct, which also involved mishandling documents from Macquarie Group, Westpac, Dexus, and Optus.
Fallout at KPMG
Several senior KPMG staff, including former CEO Andrew Yates, have resigned. National chairman Martin Sheppard and audit partners Rogers and Hoggett are expected to leave soon. A parliamentary hearing earlier this month addressed the breaches, leading to plans for new independent board members to oversee audit quality, ethics, and whistleblower oversight. KPMG's interim CEO Stan Stavros said, "The parliamentary committee's inquiries highlighted issues, including unethical behaviour by senior personnel and the human impact of KPMG's handling of the whistleblower. We did not meet the standards expected of us and we recognise the impact this has had on the whistleblower, our people, our clients and the community. We are determined to confront what went wrong, act transparently and ensure these failings are not repeated."
