From Fairfax comes the conviction of Peter Chapman, former salesman at RBA subsidiary Securency:
…the trial had a bittersweet end. Most sentencing judges find stern words for the defendant. But Judge Michael Grieve, QC seemed equally angry at Chapman’s former employer, Australian banknote company Securency, and its senior management who, he said, had pushed Chapman into corruption.
On Wednesday, Chapman had shaken his head at the four guilty verdicts. On Thursday, he was given a sentence that effectively set him free (due to time served in Ary Franco and London’s shabby old Wandsworth).
He gave a little nod. In effect he had been told: you have done wrong, but you have suffered enough.
“It was very strange,” he said. “When I first got there, I was struck by the fact it was almost like a virtual company. It didn’t have the normal core functions I was used to.
“It was like all the staff were almost like freelancers, like satellites doing their own thing. I wasn’t used to that and I didn’t like that.
“[It was] horribly inefficient … they had some very good plans but not much idea how to execute those plans.
…They were also under huge pressure from the company board to get orders on the books, and they were passing that pressure on to Chapman.
…Emails between company executives, to which Chapman was privy, were frantic. “We are fast running out of time and have a board meeting at the beginning of March,” said one. “It is becoming a very critical situation for us.”
Another email talked about the need “to get the big one across the line”.
In one email to his superiors about this time, Chapman said, enigmatically: “There are some aspects to this I need to discuss, but essentially this particular rabbit will jump out of the same battered hat again. Details to follow but they are likely to be along the same lines as the last rabbit.”
When the order finally came through in March for the new denominations, they were ecstatic. “Don’t you just love it when the plan comes to fruition – well done squire!”
Well done, indeed. Legend on the way up and fall guy on the way down. The RBA subsidiary really got its pound of flesh.
