Three Canberra public servants have been accused of fraud after they allegedly used inside knowledge of a government department to direct contracts through certain suppliers for their own financial gain.
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Abdul Aziz El-Debel, 47, Gopalakrishnan Suryanarayanan Vilayur, 50, and Raminder Singh Kahlon, 36, were charged on Thursday with conspiring to defraud the federal government.
Police allege that between June 2018 and this month, the men profited from a scheme to manipulate IT procurement processes at the Department of Finance.
When the trio appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday, no further details of the alleged fraud were discussed and no figure was placed on its monetary value.
Magistrate Beth Campbell formally charged all three men with conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.
Mr El-Debel and Mr Vilayur were further charged with abusing public office for self-benefit, which can attract a jail term of up to five years.
None of the men entered pleas.
The charges follow a complex probe that began with the Department of Finance reporting the matter to the Australian Federal Police in July 2019.
Specialist fraud and anti-corruption officers undertook an 11-month investigation, which culminated on Wednesday with police raiding seven properties in the Canberra suburbs of Griffith, Barton, Narrabundah, Amaroo, Palmerston and Forrest.
A witness to the raid on Mr El-Debel's house in Griffith told The Canberra Times federal police were there for more than eight hours. Officers were seen seizing cars and other evidence, deploying sniffer dogs and conducting swab tests.
Mr El-Debel, who goes by the name Alex, is described online as the chief architect and delivery lead for the Department of Finance's Service Delivery Office.
Mr Vilayur has been listed as a program director at the department, while Mr Kahlon's role is not known.
All three men spent a night in police custody before their brief court appearances on Thursday morning.
They were released on bail with no opposition from Commonwealth prosecutors, who agreed with lawyers for the trio on a lengthy list of conditions.
While on bail ahead of their next appearance on July 9, the men are banned from accessing Department of Finance computer systems, being within 200 metres of the departmental office, and contacting each other.
The other conditions include surrendering passports to police and agreeing to forfeit $25,000 for any failure to appear in court when required.
In a statement, Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner Ian McCartney said the AFP was committed to identifying and prosecuting anyone who misused public money for their own greed.
"Fraud is not a victimless crime and when public funds are used for personal gain, people are taking valuable funds away from essential services like hospitals and schools, impacting on all of us," he said.
"This is a complex investigation, involving the analysis of a significant volume of information.
"This includes substantial information referred to the AFP by the Department of Finance, and investigators will continue to conduct financial inquiries to ensure we have a complete understanding of this matter."
A spokeswoman for Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the minister was aware of the matter.
She did not address questions about whether contracts had been withdrawn or cancelled as a result of the charges, and whether IT procurement practices would be reviewed.
"The minister expects anyone working in the Australian public service to act with the utmost honesty, integrity and probity," the spokeswoman said.
"As this matter is before the court, it is not appropriate to comment further."
