Eight individuals will exit the consulting giant PwC over their involvement in a recent tax leak scandal.
PwC has been in damage control to repair the company’s reputation after it was revealed that a number of senior partners at the firm had used confidential government advice to drum up work from multinational companies and help them pay less tax.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Konidaris is among the eight people who are being “exited” from the partnership or in the process of being removed, following an internal investigation.
Konidaris was also on the Victorian government’s Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation board, but Creative Industries Minister Steve Dimopoulos said on Monday that he had quit the role.
“Peter was outstanding on the board, but he has now resigned,” Dimopoulos said. “The government has a code of ethics when it comes to consultancies and we are reviewing it now, more information will come.”
Other PwC partners to “exit” the firm are Eddy Moussa, Richard Gregg, Pete Calleja, Sean Gregory, Peter van Dongen, Wayne Plummer and former chief executive Tom Seymour.
The company said it had found “specific examples” where the individuals breached professional standards and a “failure of leadership and governance,” either at the time of the confidentiality breach or while matters were being investigated by the Tax Practitioners Board or Australian Taxation Office.
Last month, PwC handed over to the Senate the names of staff it said were implicated in the tax leak scandal. A demand from the Senate estimates committee followed, to name all those involved.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
