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AFP intervenes as part of PwC's investigation into tax leaks

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PwC Australia partners and employees have been told the Australian Federal Police are visiting the company as part of the ongoing investigation into the tax leakage saga.

The company's local chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, said in an internal email that the AFP was in the building on Monday and would likely remain there for a few more days.

This visit is part of Project Alesia, which was launched to further investigate the PwC tax scandal after the Senate received a series of emails from the Tax Practitioners Board revealing that government information was on the company's network were passed on.

Alesia is not the only investigation looking into the tax leakage saga that first unfolded for PwC nearly a decade ago.

The TPB still has five ongoing investigations out of the nine ongoing investigations it disclosed to Senate Estimates in June.

Four of these nine investigations have now been completed without any questions having to be answered.

In addition, PwC's ethical compliance is under ongoing review by the Treasury, which will impact the company's ability to provide ongoing advisory work to the government.

An email from Burrowes to PwC staff said the AFP was “visiting our office today and may be on site to solicit several ideas.”

“This move is an expected development in relation to an investigation the AFP launched in 2023 into the historic tax matter and individuals who left our company,” Burrowes said.

“We have worked with the AFP to facilitate their participation and will continue to cooperate with their investigation.”

Burrowes asked employees to continue working as usual even in the presence of investigators.

“Please continue as usual and remain focused on the work we are doing with our customers and in the community,” Burrowes’ email said.

“The office remains open so you can continue to work where you are used to – whether in the office or remotely.”

The email encourages employees to speak to team leaders or engagement partners if they have any questions or concerns about the AFP visit.

News of the AFP's visit follows the publication by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Enterprise and Financial Services of a services agreement between Burrowes and the global network, revealing the identity of the global network company paying Burrowes $1.2 million for consulting services.

PwC UK is the network company that pays Burrowes' global network fee through an Australian-based subsidiary.

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