Tuesday 5 January 2010
INCIDENT AT SECURENCY SITE, CRAIGIEBURN
A chemical spill occurred at Securency’s premises at Craigieburn in Victoria. The spilled chemical was methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), which Securency uses to manufacture the substrate used in printing polymer banknotes. It is estimated that the loss may have been around 25,000 litres.
Fire services were notified of the spill and assumed control of the incident when they arrived at the site. Staff were relocated to a nearby building and no staff were injured as a result of the spill.
Fire services have advised that the spill has been contained and that conditions at the site have returned to normal. Operations at Securency have resumed.
The Environment Protection Authority has been notified of the incident, as has Workcover.
For enquiries, please contact:
Bob Rankin
Chairman
0434 565 730
Friday 20 November 2009
Statement by the Board of Securency International Pty Ltd
On 23 May 2009, allegations were made in The Age newspaper that payments made to agents by Securency International Pty Ltd may have been used by the agents to pay ‘kickbacks’ to foreign government officials.
Securency has strict policies and procedures prohibiting such payments. Accordingly, the Board of Securency took the allegations very seriously and referred them to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The AFP commenced an investigation shortly thereafter, which is ongoing. As part of that investigation, the AFP has executed search warrants at the company’s premises.
Securency also commissioned KPMG to conduct an independent evaluation of the policies and procedures in place governing use of agents and the company’s compliance with these directives. This included a detailed forensic examination of communications and payments by the company going back several years. The letter of engagement is attached. While the investigations of the AFP and KPMG are independent, KPMG has provided all information obtained to the AFP.
The KPMG investigation is not yet complete. At this point, the investigation has found that concerns of a similar nature had been expressed in 2007 by a member of staff to Securency management. An internal investigation by company management at the time concluded that no actions were required. None of this information was communicated to Securency’s Board. Nor was it made available to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s auditors who conducted an audit of compliance with company policy on agents shortly thereafter, and found that the company had a good and robust process governing payments to agents. The Board’s view is that such non-disclosure by company management is unacceptable.
The Board of Securency has met to consider what immediate steps are required. Three actions have been agreed:
First, it has asked the Managing Director and the Company Secretary to stand aside from their positions while investigations continue.
Second, the Board has asked KPMG to undertake a case-by-case assessment of every agent arrangement.
Third, while that assessment is being undertaken, immediate steps are being taken to suspend marketing activities involving agents.
Securency remains committed to taking any steps required as a result of either the AFP or KPMG inquiries.
For enquiries, please contact:
Bob Rankin
Chairman
0434 565 730
Saturday 23 May 2009
STATEMENT BY BOB RANKIN
CHAIRMAN OF SECURENCY INTERNATIONAL
An article in The Age today has alleged that Securency has made payments to agents which may have been used to pay kickbacks to foreign government officials.
While The Age has not suggested that Securency has engaged in bribery, the Board of Securency views the allegations as serious. The Board has discussed the allegations with the Australian Federal Police, and referred them to the Police for investigation.
For enquiries, please contact:
Bob Rankin
Chairman
0434 565 730
Background
Securency International Pty Ltd is a joint venture between the Reserve Bank of Australia and Innovia Films, a UK based film manufacturer. It is headquartered in Craigieburn, Victoria.
Securency manufactures Guardian® which is the polymer substrate used in Australian banknotes as well as banknotes issued in 27 other countries around the world.
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