Whistleblower claims KPMG partners took millions of dollars in secret commissions

Documents alleging a former ATO Commissioner received million dollar secret commissions when he was a KPMG partner and others who misused clients’ funds and acted inappropriately with female staff have been tabled in parliament.

A redacted whistleblower letter dated August 8, 2023 alleges former partners were paid secret commissions totalling $2.4m that were the rightful income of KPMG.

Another whistleblower letter dated July 19, 2021 alleges secret commissions were received by former partners who facilitated tax arrangements for clients.

The anonymous person claimed one partner had not filed a tax return for more than 25 years, that the 1997 NSW KPMG election result was falsified and a partner carried cash from Singapore to Australia for a client to avoid paying tax.

Media reported former ATO Commissioner Chris Jordan was named by the whistleblower as a former partner who allegedly received secret commissions and failed to file tax returns in an un-redacted copy of a whistleblower letter.

Phillip Henry was also named as one partner who allegedly misused clients funds for home improvements, bought a jet ski, and acted inappropriately with female staff and clients in a whistleblower letter tabled in parliament.

Other documents revealed a whistleblower raised the alarm over the alleged misuse of client data that was shared among staff working for competitor clients and mishandled allegations raised by a whistleblower.

There is no suggestion the partners were involved in any wrong doing, just that the allegations were made by a whistleblower and tabled at a parliamentary committee investigating KPMG audit leaks.