– By Marc Sibbald –
This was a story that broke in 2015 and rocked the fleet management and leasing establishment. It involved one of the biggest fleets in the country and two well known executives from a top tier leasing company. It was the story that no one wanted to touch because it was the type of scandal that could tarnish an industry.
Last week in the NSW District Court the former Coca-Cola Amatil fleet manager Bryan Pereira was found guilty and sentenced to six years in jail (non-parole period of four years).
The story was reported in The Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald. Both reports talk about a ‘Coke slush fund’ being managed by former ORIX executives John Carter and George Georgiou to funnel the illegal payments to Pereira.
A complex set of arrangements were made to inflate the cost of vehicles and reimburse the funds to Pereira via ‘introducer fees’ and bogus invoices for services that were never performed. The reports state that the fraud started in 2003 with the help of Pereira’s friend who worked in a car dealership. It appears the fraud became more sophisticated in 2013 when Georgiou and Pereira were negotiating a new contract with the approval of Carter.
Coca-Cola Amatil suspected the fraud in 2015 when Pereira’s new boss became suspicious of his relationship with Georgiou. They alerted the NSW Police and after a covert operation by the fraud squad Pereira was arrested in March 2015.
It’s estimated the fraud cost Coke three million dollars over a period from 2004 to 2015. The money was used for overseas holidays, prostitutes and to buy gifts including a Mercedes-Benz worth $180,000.
Fleet Managers often talk about operational, financial and safety risk. This case highlights the risk to corporate reputation and the opportunity for fraud to occur when millions of dollars are being transacted through multiple entities. Its a warning to be vigilant and ensure there are checks and balances in place to reduce the risk of fraud at all levels.
