Two Australian Men Arrested for Bribing Sri Lankan Officials

Officials charged two Australian men for bribing Sri Lankan officials to purchase infrastructure contracts worth millions of dollars. Additionally, the Australian police arrested the two individuals last month as the result of an investigation that lasted ten years spanning several countries. Furthermore, the pair, aged 67 and 71, worked for a firm accused of misconduct in South Asian nations. On another note, they are yet to respond to the charges and will appear in court on Tuesday. According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the men orchestrated bribes totaling more than A$304,000 ($190,000, £172,000) to government officials between 2009 and 2016. Additionally, the officials allegedly paid these bribes to obtain two A$14 million Sri Lankan projects, the names of which the police did not reveal. Moreover, authorities from the US, Canada, India, and other countries participated in the investigation against the engineering company SMEC International Pty Ltd, which has its headquarters in Australia. Most importantly, the AFP stated that "More arrests and charges are possible." More Details Detective Supt. Helen Schneider stated, "Corruption undermines fair competition and can have disastrous consequences for developing economies, global anti-poverty, and development efforts." On another note, originally established in 1949 to construct a famous Australian infrastructure project, SMEC was once known as the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation. And since then, it expanded to employ 5,400 employees across numerous nations. However, in 2017, the World Bank put SMEC and its four subsidiaries in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka under temporary suspension from participating in its procurement processes. The World Bank claimed to have found proof connecting the corporation to alleged "inappropriate payments" in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Read More- Former Australian Adviser to Suu Kyi Sentenced to Jail in Myanmar But, at the time, a SMEC spokesperson stated that the accusations had nothing to do with any Australian projects and that the business will keep strengthening its corporate integrity compliance programs.