Auckland Airport fraudster pleads guilty
The 53-year-old woman has also been named.
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A former Auckland Airport employee has pleaded guilty to a $1.8 million fraud.
Auckland Airport announced in February it had sacked a non-executive employee and called in police after discovering many unauthorised transactions.
It then sought and was granted freezing orders against the then unnamed employee, which initially covered about $503,000 but were later extended to $1.84 million.
The woman, who can now be named as 53-year-old Teremoana Kimiangatau, appeared in the Auckland District Court today on three charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office.
The SFO says Ms Kimiangatau has pleaded guilty to the charges of “obtaining by deception.”
She transferred funds from the airport’s bank account to her own account by changing client bank account numbers to her own within the airport’s accounting system.
SFO director Julie Read says the offending shows “some environments” can present opportunities for this type of fraud.
“Checks and balances need to be in place to detect fraud and, most importantly, those checks need to be taken seriously as opposed to treating them as nothing more than a box-ticking exercise.
“Ms Kimiangatau’s responsibilities allowed her to pass invoices for authorisation many times and make changes to client information without being challenged.”
Ms Kimiangatau will next appear in November.
The airport has previously said the matter, while significant, would not affect current or previously reported financial reports.
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Hamish McNicol
Tue, 26 Jul 2016
Tue, 26 Jul 2016
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Auckland Airport fraudster pleads guilty
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