Infosys is in trouble – leaked files have shown that a consulting firm has teamed up with federal Liberal MP Stuart Robert and given him access to some important clients, which include Infosys and Unisys.
It has been revealed that this has resulted in Infosys winning a major government contract as well.
Infosys Winning Clients And Contracts Through Illegal Activities?
According to a number of Australian media outlets, a cache of stolen documents purport to show how Stuart Robert, a federal Liberal MP, coordinated with consulting firm Synergy360, which is owned by friends of Robert, to grant access to important clients like Infosys and Unisys. This is then said to have led to Infosys winning a significant government contract.
To determine if there was any illegal activity involved, the government is investigating the deal. The government services minister, Bill Shorten, has previously stated that it is corruption for MPs to use their positions of power to “enrich private mates.”
The Australian Federal Government’s Services Australia awarded a contract to Infosys over Accenture and IBM to modernise the entitlement calculation engine (ECE) for its welfare system.
Meetings Arranged For Unisys By Synergy 360
According to the publication’s report on the stolen documents, Synergy 360 allegedly hosted meetings for Unisys company representatives in 2017.
The report states, “Emails from late 2017 detail how Synergy 360 billed Unisys for “meetings arranged for Unisys global CEO Peter Altabeff in Canberra – Meetings confirmed with Hon Minister Dutton on 29 November 2017 & closed-door Committee Briefing 30 November 2017”.”
With the help of the ECE project, which Infosys was awarded, Services Australia was able to implement policy changes faster for the benefit of Australians while minimising operational costs.
In 2019, Infosys won a $18.4 million initial contract before winning an additional $71.6 million for the government programme Centrelink’s new payment settlement. Infosys is believed to have won a contract worth over $135 million from Services Australia and other governmental organisations.
According to the report, Infosys agreed to give Synergy a $15,000 monthly retainer and at least a 1% cut of every government contract it won, according to internal Synergy 360 files created between 2018 and 2020.
