Australian Signals Directorate caught up in KPMG consulting scandal
Australia’s cyber spy agency has been drawn into the widening KPMG scandal after awarding a $46 million contract to the consulting giant despite knowing it had inside information it could exploit from an earlier stage of the project.
The lucrative work for the Australian Signals Directorate on the multi-billion-dollar REDSPICE program was won following a competitive tender, with the contract details quietly published on Friday.
Last week the firm was awarded a total of 18 federal government contracts worth almost $70 million, including $21 million in work with the Department of Defence. KPMG is under pressure after the ABC's Four Corners program revealed whistleblower claims that it had ripped off taxpayers by submitting inflated invoices and billed Defence for work never done.