An Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer accused of selling information to a member of the public has been charged with a dozen bribery and corruption offences.
The 43-year-old, from Epping in Sydney’s north-west, was on Wednesday charged with offences including two counts of receiving a bribe as a Commonwealth public official and two counts of receiving a corrupting benefit.
“I can’t get into the details of the information that was passed on … but suffice to say that it was information that was protected (in) the AFP,” AFP Sydney commander Ray Johnson told reporters.
The accused is due before Sydney’s Central Local Court on Thursday and faces a long stint behind bars if convicted.
A bribery conviction carries a penalty of up to 10 years in jail while the other offences carry penalties of two to five years each.
The officer, who worked in the “protection function” was suspended in May, following a 15-month investigation.
“The objective of AFP Protection is to keep individuals and interests identified by the Commonwealth as being at risk safe from acts of terrorism, violent protest and issues motivated violence,” the AFP says on its website.
None of the alleged information sold on endangered people and neither was any investigation compromised, Mr Johnson said.
Mr Johnson said no one else has yet been charged over the allegations.
“All I can say at this point is the investigation will continue,” he said.
Investigations started in 2012 when the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) received information.
“Some other information came to their knowledge and that encouraged them to undertake a joint investigation with AFP professional standards,” Mr Johnson said.
Even so, if the charges were proven everyone in the AFP would be significantly disappointed, he added.
Source: dailymail
