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A High Court judge says an Auckland Council official who awarded his friend a lucrative contract has undermined public confidence in his former employer.
Sundeep Dillip Rasila appeared before the Auckland High Court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced to five and a half months of house arrest, after admitting to charges of bribery and corruption.
Judge Graham Lang said the case was not so much about “dollars and cents” but about damage to public confidence.
“We have never had large-scale corruption in New Zealand.”
Abigail Dougherty / Things
Judge Graham Lang said Sundeep Dilip Rasila undermined public confidence in the Auckland Council.
Judge Lang said the case had questioned the public’s trust and the integrity of the Auckland Council.
He rejected a request from Rasila’s lawyer for a discharge without conviction.
The offender
Rasila was employed by the Auckland Council as a “procurement relations specialist” between 2012 and 2016, according to court documents seen by Things.
The 42-year-old role was to manage supplier contracts, particularly office supplies.
In 2015, the council provided property files to potential home buyers and others on CD, but was looking to switch to USB sticks.
Rasila told the council that he could get the best price by contacting a Chinese supplier and buying in bulk, according to the documents.
Using his personal email address, Rasila contacted a Chinese company and requested a quote for a mass delivery of USB sticks with the council’s logo printed on them.
He also contacted his old friend, Sunil Chand.
Rasila had met the Mt Roskill resident, 56, while working together at a commercial print shop.
Rasila had even lived with Chand’s family for six years.
Chand owned his own printing press, On Time Print Finishers.
Rasila asked Chand to also prepare a quote for the council, using information from the Chinese company’s quote.
Despite the fact that Rasila told the council that he would get the USB sticks directly from China, he and Rasila arranged for On Time Print to buy the USB sticks and sell them to the council for profit, according to court documents.
Rasila then produced a spreadsheet that included quotes from other companies.
In order for On Time Print’s bid to appear as the highest bidder for the contract, it omitted a lower bid and the quote it got for dealing directly with the Chinese supplier.
He knew the contract would be awarded to the highest bidder, according to the documents.
On Time Print was awarded the contract, initially for $ 152,250 (excluding GST) for the supply of 22,000 USB flash drives.
SIMON MAUDE / Things
Sundeep Dillip Rasila was sentenced in Auckland High Court.
The council did not know that Rasila had obtained a quote that would have saved him $ 27,150.
The council was also unaware of Rasila’s connection to Chand and On Time Print.
Rasila’s secrecy violated the policies of the Council’s Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest.
On Time Print then dropped its price to $ 140,150 (excluding GST) after removing the requirement to print the council’s logo on USB sticks.
Rasila left the council in 2016, but continued to establish contacts between the Chinese provider, Online Print, and the council.
The contract earned Rasila’s On Time Print $ 57,589 in profit, after billing the council and paying the Chinese supplier.
After the delivery of the first batch of USB flash drives in bulk, Rasila went to Chand and asked him for a payment of $ 15,000 to facilitate the contract.
I wanted it in two parts: $ 7,500 right away and $ 7,500 after the second shipment was delivered.
Chand did not have the cash, but he did deliver a check that Rasila cashed and deposited most of it into his personal bank account.
When he spoke to the Serious Fraud Office, Rasila admitted taking the payment and Chand admitted paying it, but they both refused to say more.
The court document does not reveal how bribery and corruption were discovered.
Chand is due to be sentenced next week for giving gifts to an agent who carries the same maximum sentence.
Stuff approached the Serious Fraud Office and the council in April to ask if any of the authorities had investigated all previous contracts Rasila was involved in to ensure there was no pattern of fraud.
An OFS spokesman said that was not part of their investigation. The Auckland Council did not respond.
In 2017, an Auckland contractor and a public official were jailed for corruption worth more than $ 1 million related to road contracts.
Stephen James Borlase, a former director of Projenz, who performed contract work for Auckland Transport (AT), was found guilty on eight counts of corruption or bribery of an official, but not guilty on four counts of obtaining a document for pecuniary advantage.
Murray John Noone, a former transportation director for the Rodney District Council (RDC) and later an AT employee, was convicted of six counts of corruption or bribery of an official.
