Australian Government accountant jailed

An accountant with the Australian Department of Finance was yesterday jailed for 7 1/2 years for an $A8.73 million ($10.65 million) fraud.

David John Muir, aged 32, of Canberra, was found guilty of defrauding the Government of the money, which was electronically transferred to companies with which he was associated.

Muir sought to hide his tracks by using the log-on codes and passwords of other employees. The sentencing judge said a very large sum was potentially unrecoverable.