World News – UA – V / Line boss took money from cleaning company for home drop-off, IBAC said

Former V / Line Managing Director James Pinder was reportedly awarded $ 320,000 by a cleaning company – which he used to buy $ 2 Million House from Williamstown – after winning a multi-million dollar contract with the regional rail operator

State Anti-Corruption Commission IBAC Has Launched Public Hearings on « Alleged Collusion of Public Officials » at V / Line and Metro to Advance Business Interests of Transclean Cleaning Contractor , in exchange for financial advantages

Former V / Line boss James Pinder is questioned by IBAC over allegations that public officials have received financial gain in exchange for being awarded cleaning contracts Credit: The Age

M Pinder and Metro Fleet Operational Support Chief Peter Bollas are accused of allegedly pocketing cash payments from Transclean while overseeing cleaning contracts at rail operators and using burner phones to secretly communicate for four years

Transclean is the cleaning contractor for V / Line and Metro and performs safety work for Yarra Trams

Assistant lawyer Paul Lawrie accused MM Pinder and Bollas for « using their positions to financially benefit Transclean and themselves » during the live hearings, which will summon the men and Transclean boss George Haritos for questioning

Seven months after M Pinder authorized a decision by V / Line’s board of directors to award Transclean a major cleaning contract worth up to $ 40 million in May 2018, with the cleaning company making the first of several payments to M Pinder, according to the survey

In December 2018, a Transclean associate allegedly transferred $ 100,000 for a deposit on M’s new home Pinder in Williamstown, which he then bought for $ 25 million

This payment was made a day before M Pinder does not submit report to IBAC informing watchdog that he had rooted out corruption at V / Line, after IBAC discovered a « culture of jobs for friends » in 2017 that saw leaders bypass tender rules for granting grants friends and associates large contracts with attractive salaries

Transclean then made several other payments to M Pinder between late 2018 and early 2019, totaling at least $ 320,000, « which went toward the purchase of the [Williamstown] property, and ultimately traced back to Transclean, » Mr. Lawrie at the auditions

M Pinder reportedly started using a burner phone to communicate with Transclean boss George Haritos and M Bollas after being appointed Managing Director of V / Line

The trio communicated in this manner for four years, with the aim of « keeping the trio’s relationship beyond detection, » M Lawrie Phones were subscribed on behalf of Transclean associates

The three have known each other for almost a decade, M Bollas falling under M Pinder while he was in charge of rolling stock at Metro between 2012 and 2015, said Mr. Lawrie at hearings Transclean was Metro’s cleaning contractor at the time

M Pinder left Metro in 2015 and returned to the UK, but was poached as Managing Director of V / Line, where he started working at the end of 2016

In May 2018, Transclean won a three-year, $ 17 million contract with V / Line, replacing a long-time contractor

At the board meeting where it was decided to hand over the contract to Transclean, the investigation learned that Mr. Pinder had been given direct control of the contract, instead of advice

This gave M Pinder the power to decide whether the contract should be extended for a full seven years, adding $ 23 million to the contract value

This was well over the budget of $ 5 million that Mr. Pinder was authorized to supervise as general manager

IBAC has opened an investigation after detecting a number of « suspicious bank account transactions between V / Line Managing Director James Pinder and Transclean associates »

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V / Line, James Pinder, Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, Victoria, Transclean