Financial Crimes Squad detectives laid the charges against Mark Ainslie,62,after an investigation into alleged corruption and fraud first uncovered by the Corruption and Crime Commission in a report in April 2022.
Police will allege Ainslie received $122,500 in bribes between 2014 and 2020,while employed by the Department of Communities.
The man who allegedly offered the bribes was HRD Construction building contractor Peter Haxby who appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on January 3 after being charged with the same number of bribery charges plus one count of gaining benefit by fraud.
Ainslie worked for the Department of Housing then the Department of Communities and according to the CCC report “had considerable discretion over the award of contracts for construction,renovation and repair of country housing.”
The projects he was in control over were predominantly for social housing in regional and Aboriginal communities.
In its report,the CCC alleged that between the period of August 12,2014 and January 28,2020 HRD Constructions was paid $1.16 million by the Departments of Housing and Communities and,in turn,HRD Constructions paid $111,000 to Ainslie.
Haxby,68,told the CCC the men had an agreement to pay Ainslie 10 per cent of the work he won with the department.
Ainslie and Haxby had met while working with each other years earlier in the Tafe sector.
The CCC investigation was sparked after the Department of Communities’ own review into its business areas following the
Whyte was eventually jailed for 12 years after stealing $27 million in taxpayer funds.
It has not been suggested Whyte and the accused are linked in any way and the current charges are unrelated. .
He is due to appear before the Perth Magistrates Court on February 9.
Haxby is due to front court again on January 27.
WA Police said investigations into the involvement of other parties and related matters remain ongoing.
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