abc.net.au/news/wa-department-of-communities-private-investment-corruption-probe/102624674WA's Corruption and Crime Commission has found the state's Department of Communities lost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in a failed share investment, described as a "disaster" that left the government with ownership of a "worthless company".
While the commission has ruled the department "exposed Western Australia to corruption risks", it did not identify any serious misconduct on the part of the people involved.The Department of Communities has been left with an 87 per cent shareholding in Goldmaster, described in the CCC report as a "worthless company", which has lost approximately $38.5 million as of July 2023.
"The Department intends to buy out the remaining shareholders and probably liquidate the company, so that will be a significant loss of money that could've been used for social housing," he told ABC Radio Perth.The business venture, dubbed 'Project Stella Orion', "abounded" in misconduct risks, according to the CCC.
Even the authority's own chief financial officer was, for a "considerable time", unaware the shares had been purchased.