Dear Chief Commissioner,

On Wednesday, 17 October 2012 I wrote Victoria’s then Chief Commissioner of Police Ken Lay QPM to report what appeared to be at least one serious indictable offence arising from a complex series of frauds relating to an incorporated entity called “The AWU Workplace Reform Association Inc”.

Later that day the Chief Commisioner’s staff officer wrote to me to say that the apparent offences disclosed in my correspondence had been forwarded to the Crime Department for further assessment.   

I understand that after crime screening process the investigation was assigned to the Major Fraud Squad and assigned the identifier “Operation Tenement”.  I provided several hundred hours of my time and access to all the documentary and other evidentiary material i had or knew of to the detective responsible for Tendement.

It is now almost three and a half years since that initial report.  Victoria Police appears to have made a substantial resource allocation into the investigation of the initial report and the consequential offence apparently disclosed.  

I advised CCP Lay that I would make a public disclosure about my report to him and any replies I received.   More than one million individuals have visited the website where I published the correspondence - and many of them, like me would like to know what’s become of the investigation.

May I ask:

Has Operation Tendement completed its investigation?

Were any offences disclosed?

Were any crime reports logged arising from Operation Tendement?  If so for what offences?   What are the Crime Report references?

Have any offenders been identified?  For what offences?  Have any offenders been interviewed?

Has Victoria Police completed a Brief(s) of Evidence as a result of Operation Tendement?

Was the Brief(s) authorised for prosecution?  If so has process been issued?   Have any offenders been arrested or charged?

Has a Brief(s) been forwarded to Victoria’s Office of Public Prosecutions?  If so when?   If the OPP has been in possession of a Brief(s) from detectives for a period in excess of 60 days, what is the reason for any delay in formulating charges or recommending no prosecutions?

When does Victoria Police say the matters might be finalised?

I propose to treat this note as a public communication along with any direct response Victoria Police sends to me.

Yours sincerely

Michael Smith

www.michaelsmithnews.com

http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2012/10/my-report-to-the-chief-commissioner-of-police-in-victoria.html

http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2012/10/my-report-to-the-chief-commissioner-of-police-in-victoria-the-response-1.html

Affidavit of Detective Sergeant Ross Mitchell to the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court describing the investigation as at September 2013 http://resources.news.com.au/files/500/537/184192-aus-file-awu-1.pdf

Finding of Chief Magistrate Peter Lauritsen that documents seized by Victoria :Police from the law firm Slater and Gordon under authority of a search warrant were created in the furtherance of fraud.   That finding was appealed and police discontinued their action in respect of some the documents the subject of the Chief Magistrates’ ruling http://resources.news.com.au/files/2013/12/09/1226779/285443-131210-aus-file-wilson.pdf

ENDS

Chaser

Michael Smith <[email protected]>	Mar 14 (2 days ago)
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