PwC scandal: company stands down employees involved in alleged misuse of tax information

Officials confirmed at Senate estimates the AFP has contracts with PwC acting as its internal auditor, raising potential conflict of interest

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PwC has agreed to a federal government order to stand down employees involved in the alleged misuse of confidential information, as scrutiny now turns to a potential conflict of interest in AFP's use of the consultancy firm while it investigates the breach.

The public service has stepped up its response to PwC for sharing confidential tax policy information to drum up business, with the head of treasury referring the matter to police and finance ordering staff directly involved in, or who had knowledge of, the significant breach" to be stood down.