A former Visy employee and a Broadford Mill operations manager have avoided jail over a $500,000 “kickback” scheme, after one of Victoria’s longest-running white-collar crime prosecutions ended with serious questions left unanswered.
John Sapountzis, the former operations manager at National Paper Industries (NPI), and Cassandra Long, a former Visy account manager, were accused of channelling hundreds of thousands of dollars in so-called “management entertainment fees” approved by NPI’s directors into private accounts.
Sapountzis pleaded guilty to paying a secret commission and dealing with the proceeds of crime, while Long admitted to receiving a secret commission.
The County Court heard the payments – initially sanctioned by NPI directors Neil Bergin and Dr Leon Shapero – were meant to maintain Visy’s business but were instead diverted into Long’s accounts. An internal audit later found she had also deleted records of $400,000 in paper supplied to NPI for free.
Judge Kelly Blair, in sentencing Sapountzis to a community corrections order, questioned the role of the directors, noting the conduct appeared to have been “supported by the directors” and done “at their direction.”
Dr Shapero and Mr Bergin, who were never charged, denied wrongdoing but admitted the company profited from the free paper. Dr Shapero conceded NPI “made a lot of money” shortly after meeting Long at a Visy corporate event.
Sapountzis told the court he had trusted the directors and failed to walk away when he should have, apologising to the Pratt family, owners of Visy.
“I understand that they are the real victims in this,” he said.
Long, who is yet to be sentenced, is expected to avoid imprisonment. Most of the money remains unaccounted for, and civil litigation between Sapountzis and NPI continues.
Source: The Herald Sun
