Another specter and scam controversy is haunting Minter …
Hackers scam staff member at one of Australia’s biggest law firms
One of the country’s top six law firms was the victim of an attempted scam attack after one of its staff members was tricked into transferring a large sum of money into the account of a fraudster impersonating a trusted business associate.
MinterEllison confirmed on Thursday that it had been the victim of an attempted scam attack, but insisted its systems had not been compromised by the hackers, who had instead hacked into the systems of a business it was working with on a deal.
MinterEllison says its own systems were not compromised by the hackers, who were able to impersonate a trusted associate of the firm.
The firm was able to recover the funds – suggested at below $500,000 – after detecting the fraud attempt.
According to sources familiar with the incident but not allowed to speak publicly, MinterEllison rushed to the Supreme Court of Victoria in early April after learning its staff member had been duped into transferring the funds into the bank account of a person seeking to defraud the firm.
The sources said the firm’s alleged scammers were able to infiltrate the systems of another group it was working with on the transactions and impersonate a staff member working on the transaction to a MinterEllison staff member. The MinterEllison staff member who made the transfer was unaware at the time that they had been tricked, sources said.
A spokesperson for the firm did not clarify if it was now updating its processes in the wake of the fraud attempt on its business.
“MinterEllison has clear policies and procedures in place to safeguard the firm in its business dealings. We continually review all our policies and procedures to ensure they are robust and fit for purpose,” they said.
“No MinterEllison systems were compromised, and all parties have been made whole. The incident underlines the importance of hypervigilance in all financial transactions.”
MinterEllison is one of the country’s largest law firms. It has large practices in competition law, corporate legal advisory, mergers and acquisition advisory and employment law, and a well-known defamation law practice.
The MinterEllison attempted fraud comes as hacking and system protection are of significant focus for large companies. Earlier this year, a report from KPMG, Keeping us up at night, which surveyed more than 300 Australian CEOs in October last year, nominated dealing with cyber risks as the top priority for 2024 and the next three to five years.
While MinterEllison was able to stave off the attempted fraud by quick detection, other law firms in Australia have suffered major hacking attacks that have caused significant damage.
A cyberattack on HWL Ebsworth in 2023 resulted in 65 government departments having documentation relating to their legal affairs being accessed by hackers. Another law firm, Allens, was the victim of a cyberattack in 2021 in which hackers were able to access important documents relating to work it had done for Westpac.
Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
MinterEllison regularly does work for this masthead.
Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.
Q: Does anyone know of the fabled unicorn ” one solid study done to demonstrate the benefits of privatisation, of soaring consultancy costs.” please?
Q2: I know a partener at MinterEllison, so I am open to suggestions as to what and how to say ‘it’ – the elephant in the room.
“In thirty years of privatisation, there has never been one solid study done to demonstrate the benefits of privatisation, of soaring consultancy costs. They have not bothered to justify their fetish, not even to take stock of it in a Treasury report or half-decent inquiry.
“And now, the cherry on top of this mountainous cake of deceit, is the narrative that everything is everybody else’s fault. Nothing is the fault of the political classes. It’s “personal responsibility” for people, not politicians.”
*
“Whopper Returns: Tax Office fee bonanza the latest in the privatisation of government
By Callum Foote|January 3, 2022
[ note: these clips are from the 2nd half of this article.]
“Chris Jordan, who became Tax Commissioner in 2013, was a partner of Big Four tax avoidance facilitator KPMG. Two commissioners on the ATO Executive Committee are ex-KPMG. Current and recently departed Deputy Commissioners also ex-KPMG and moving to Minter Ellison.
“For instance, this contract with MinterEllison for the provision of legal services has been running since 2016, and has now been extended to June 2022.
“The original contract has been extended by $10 million to $52 million over the contract period.
[graph]
“MinterEllison receives the greatest amount out of the six on the panel. The graph above only considers available competitive tenders as seen on AusTender, and not the money paid through Standing Offer Contracts.
“Outside of Standing Offers, each contract undergoes a rigorous assessment process by a panel and is awarded on merit and cost.
“Under a Standing Order, this process is undertaken by an assessment on the part of the ATO legal services team headed up until recently by Jeremy Geal ex-KPMG and who now works for MinterEllison.
“Since Jordan and Hirschhorn joined the ATO there has been a major push to outsource legal work, facilitated by Kirsten Fish and Jeremy Geal as head of law and disputes respectively. Jeremy Geal is ex-KMPG and now works for MinterEllison as of August 2021.
“Minters is the largest provider under this SON. With recent recruits of Geal and former ATO Deputy Commissioner Mark Konza who have the inside knowledge on tax avoidance taskforce planning and case strategy (Konza) and litigation and disputes strategy under Part IVC (ITAA 1936) objection process weaknesses (Geal).
““Minters will be in the box seat to attract more big business transfer pricing disputes,” says an insider.
“For instance, this contract with MinterEllison for the provision of legal services has been running since 2016, and has now been extended to June 2022.
“The original contract has been extended by $10 million to $52 million over the contract period.
“Considered at its most elementary level, it is hard to see how a partner in a private firm charged out at $1,000 an hour could be more efficient, except in special instances, than a well trained public servant at a fraction of the cost.
“And more broadly, the foxes are taking over the henhouse. Major law and consulting firms make large profits selling advice to multinational corporations on how to avoid tax while also making large profits telling governments how to conduct their affairs. Meanwhile they audit, supposedly independently, just across the other side of what can be rice-paper-thin Chinese Walls, the financial reports of these same companies.
“It’s probably too much to hope for, after 30 years of privatisation, and the past 8 years of a rapidly escalating consultancy fee-fest, that somebody in government will demand a decent analysis of the costs and benefits of outsourcing and flogging publicly owned assets to private interests. “…
Whopper Returns: Tax Office fee bonanza the latest in the privatisation of government
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/whopper-returns-tax-office-fee-bonanza-the-latest-in-the-privatisation-of-government/