Kings Park Primary School was among Victorian secondary colleges and primary schools allegedly involved in a corrupt scheme involving the diversion of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to companies or figures linked to senior education official Nino Napoli.
The claims were made on Monday morning as part of an opening statement by Ian Hill QC, the counsel assisting the first major public inquiry by the Independent Broad Based Anti Corruption Commission.
Mr Hill told the inquiry that between 2007 and 2014, more than $1.5 million in taxpayer funds were shifted from accounts controlled by so-called ‘banker schools’ to companies controlled by relatives of Mr Napoli.
Mr Hill said the movement of the money involved “potentially improper and corrupt payments made out of public funds”.
The primary schools named as having held accounts from which the money was improperly transferred include Chandler Park, Norwood and Moonee Ponds West.
The secondary schools allegedly involved included John Fawkner College and Sale College.
Mr Hill said Mr Napoli had allegedly directed the scheme, which involved the corrupt movement of at least $2.5 million to companies linked to his relatives. Payments were then allegedly made back to Mr Napoli by these companies.
IBAC investigators believe a far higher amount than $2.5 million may have been allegedly corruptly siphoned off by Mr Napoli and his associates.
“The state schools holding public money … paid out those monies on the presentation of invoices which in many cases were demonstrably false,” Mr Hill said.
Since 1992, Mr Napoli was a high ranking departmental official and recently controlled a budget of $4 billion, or over a third of the entire departmental funding pool.
He was suspended during the IBAC probe – which began in late 2013 – and is understood to have been sacked in the last few days.
Mr Hill said that Mr Napoli had “unfettered discretion” to spend $7 million annually in departmental funds.
Mr Hill said there was evidence that some education officials, including department employees and principals, may be culpable in the corrupt scheme’s operation.
Some may have turned a blind-eye or failed to ensure proper scrutiny and governance.
Mr Hill said the apparent operation of the corrupt scheme for many years revealed and “exceptional and concerning” failure within the education department that denied schools “scarce resources.”
The first witness to be called is former top department official Jeff Rosewarne. The hearings are expected to run for six weeks and call up to 60 witnesses.
More to come
This story first appeared in The Age
