Secret kickbacks received for contracts

Secret kickbacks received for contracts

Two former employees of Thermakraft Industries (NZ) Ltd (Thermakraft) have appeared in the Auckland District Court today and pleaded guilty to fraud and corruption charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

Peter Sanele, a former factory manager at Thermakraft, pleaded guilty to one Secret Commissions Act charge of failing to disclose a pecuniary interest in a contract and two representative Crimes Act charges of dishonest use of a document. Mark Treadwell, a former director and shareholder at Thermakraft, also pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to disclose a pecuniary interest in a contract.

The Secret Commissions Act charge against the pair related to a company in which Mr Sanele and Mr Treadwell had an interest, JMP Transport Ltd (JMP), which supplied freight services to Thermakraft. The defendants secretly received kickbacks for contracts between JMP and Thermakraft.

The two other charges against Mr Sanele related to a company MacPallets, which supplied pallets and other packaging materials to Thermakraft. Between 2009 and 2013, Mr Sanele submitted 51 false invoices to Thermakraft on behalf of MacPallets.

The total amounts received by Mr Sanele and Mr Treadwell as a result of their offending were $261,030 and $90,000 respectively.

SFO Director, Julie Read said, “Mr Sanele and Mr Treadwell were trusted employees of Thermakraft and obtained these commissions dishonestly by abusing that trust. This is the sort of behaviour that could harm New Zealand’s good reputation for low levels of corruption in business.”

Mr Sanele and Mr Treadwell have been remanded on bail and will reappear for sentencing on 17 December 2015.

ENDS

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