A banknote venture half-owned by Australia's central bank has called in police over allegations its money may have been used indirectly to pay kickbacks to foreign governments, the bank said on Saturday. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said in a statement that Securency International Pty Ltd, which sells a polymer used in banknotes in Australia and 27 other countries, had referred the allegations to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
The Australian-based company is chaired by RBA assistant governor Bob Rankin and is 50 percent owned by the central bank. The other 50 percent is held by British firm Innovia Films. "Allegations have been made in The Age newspaper today that payments made to agents by Securency International Pty. Ltd, a company in which the Reserve Bank is a shareholder, may have been used by the agents to pay 'kickbacks' to foreign government officials," the RBA statement said.
"The board of Securency has referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police," it said. The Age reported the commissions ran to millions of Australian dollars. Some of the agents in question had been named in corruption probes in Africa and Asia, it said.
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