Two employees of Ernst and Young (EY) have been dismissed after Australian authorities alleged that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s personal banking information was unlawfully accessed while the pair were working for the accounting firm at Commonwealth Bank.
The Australian Federal Police announced that two Sydney men were charged in May with privacy-related offences after the bank detected irregular activity involving restricted customer information belonging to a federal politician. Authorities have alleged that the information accessed was linked to Prime Minister Albanese.
Police charged Paul Issa, 21, and Phillip Issa, 25, with one count each of accessing restricted data without authorization. The younger man also faces an additional charge of using a communications device to distribute personal information “in a way that reasonable persons would regard, in all the circumstances, as menacing or harassing towards those individuals.”
The alleged breach was uncovered following an internal investigation initiated after Commonwealth Bank identified irregular activity involving restricted customer records. The investigation resulted in the termination of two EY employees. According to the information provided, only one of the dismissed employees has been charged by police.
Ernst and Young declined to comment on the matter. A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson also declined to discuss the case, stating that it was not appropriate to comment on individual contractor matters.
Prime Minister Albanese’s office also declined to comment on the alleged breach.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers described any breach of customer privacy within Australia’s banking system as a serious concern but said legal proceedings were now underway.
“I think on the face of it, any developments of that kind are incredibly concerning, not just in relation to the PM’s details, but any Australian’s details,” Chalmers said.
“I assume that there are now legal and other processes to play out and I don’t want to get in the way of those.”
The allegations place EY among a series of major professional services firms that have faced public scrutiny in recent years over the handling of confidential information.
KPMG recently agreed to suspend bidding for new federal government contracts for three months following a scandal involving the treatment of a whistleblower. The controversy culminated in the resignation of the firm’s chair, Martin Sheppard, after allegations concerning the misuse of confidential information belonging to client Lendlease were disclosed in federal parliament by Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill in March.
The latest case also follows the 2022 PwC controversy, in which the consulting firm was found to have used confidential government tax information to assist multinational companies in developing tax avoidance strategies. PwC currently does not compete for federal government contracts because of a non-compete arrangement.
Consulting firms such as EY provide advisory and operational services to both government and private-sector organizations, making the handling of confidential information a central part of their work.
Both accused men appeared before Newtown Local Court and remain on bail. Their matters were adjourned until August 25 as legal proceedings continue
