LAWFUEL – The Australia + New Zealand Legal News & Jobswire – A Toorak man has been jailed for two years for his involvement in making corrupt and secret payments to a former ANZ bank officer, following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Mr Cedric Anthony was today sentenced in the County Court of Victoria, having been convicted on 7 November 2007 by a jury on three counts of corruptly giving an inducement or reward following a three-week trial. Mr Anthony will be eligible for parole after serving 18 months in prison.
ASIC alleged Mr Anthony, as a director of Austasia Clothing Pty Ltd (in liquidation), received a number of unauthorised, unapproved payments from Mr Stephen Craig Jenvey, a former bank officer with ANZ, between June 2004 and March 2005. At the time, Mr Anthony was an ANZ customer.
The Court heard Mr Anthony made secret and corrupt payments to Mr Jenvey. These payments consisted of $9,000 in cash credited to a TAB account held by Mr Jenvey, as well as a business class flight to Sri Lanka for Mr Jenvey valued at over $5,000. The purpose of the payments was to reward Mr Jenvey and to provide inducement to him to continue to make unapproved payments to Mr Anthony to support his business activities.
ASIC’s Executive Director of Enforcement, Ms Jan Redfern noted the outcome.
‘Knowingly providing a corrupt reward or inducement is a serious offence. Today’s jailing reflects the very grave nature of the activities in which the defendant was involved’, Ms Redfern said.
The jury in the case was directed by his Honour Judge Kelly to find Mr Anthony not guilty of eleven theft charges.
The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Background
In April 2007, Mr Jenvey, of Mooroolbark, Victoria, pleaded guilty to six counts of theft and three counts of corruptly receiving an inducement or reward and was sentenced by the County Court of Victoria to four years and three months imprisonment.
Mr Jenvey had been employed by ANZ since 1981. At the time of the thefts, he was a Trade Relationship Manager in the International Trade Services Delivery Section. He was dismissed from his employment on discovery of the theft.
Mr Jenvey admitted to stealing approximately $7.3 million between June 2004 and March 2005 by making unauthorised and undocumented payments to the customer from other customers’ trade facilities.
The payments were not properly recorded and Mr Jenvey deliberately hid the true state of the payments from ANZ. Mr Jenvey did not have the authority to make the payments. Mr Jenvey also admitted he corruptly received money and other valuable considerations on three occasions as a reward from the customer. These rewards consisted of $9,000 cash and a holiday to Sri Lanka.
