Former CBA executive charged with $1.5 million bribery

A former executive of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia was arrested and charged on Wednesday with bribery following an investigation involving Australian and U.S. authorities.

Keith Hunter, a 61-year old U.S. national and Sydney resident, is suspected, with another former CBA employee, of having granted a U.S. IT company a contract without putting it to public tender, the Australian police said. In exchange, the two allegedly received payment.

More than $1.5 million in suspected corrupt payments were frozen by the Fraud and Cybercrime Squad, the police added.

Hunter was granted bail following a brief court appearance. He intends to plead not guilty, his lawyer said, and will next appear in court on April 1.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a statement it had reported the matter to the police, and that its customers were not affected by the alleged fraud.

The charges come a day after a court sentenced to jail a former Australian foreign exchange trader at National Australia Bank who used confidential economic data to make dozens of illegal trades.

Tags

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia, Fraud and Cybercrime Squad, National Australia Bank

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