Vic detectives will investigate the alleged embezzlement of $1.5 million of Liberal party funds.
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The Victorian Liberal party is missing $2 million from party coffers, leading to a former state director now being investigated.
Internal investigations revealed irregularities that have now been turned over to police by the state administrative committee.
The pair allegedly offered assistance to Tristan Weston, who resigned as an adviser to then deputy premier Peter Ryan over a plot to undermine former police chief commissioner Simon Overland.
‘I don’t want anything to do with him.
“(It was) nothing particularly outrageous, just people funding their lifestyles”, Mr Kroger said.
“The ability of the party to continue to operate and fund its campaigns has not been compromised”, a party statement said.
Mr Kroger said he believed the party would be able to reclaim some of the money, which is held in “assets”.
Earlier, Mr Kroger told the Herald Sun the Party would refer the matter to the police.
Damien Mantach, who stood down in March after the party’s 2014 election loss, was publicly accused on Thursday of stealing from the Liberal’s election war chest over four years from 2010.
It also emerged that Mr Mantach repaid tens of thousands of dollars during his time as state director of the Tasmanian branch.
Finger pointing has begun within the party, with the Liberals’ federal director – and husband of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s chief-of-staff, Peta Credlin – Brian Loughnane reportedly being blamed for his appointment.
Soon afterwards, however, he was employed as a campaign worker by the Victorian Liberal party, and was later promoted to party director.
Some of the invoices were allegedly made out to a firm that does not exist.
August 18, 2015 – Sends his lawyer to a meeting with the party.
“We feel profoundly betrayed and terribly disappointed with what’s happened”, Mr Kroger said.
‘It appears it was only Damian involved.
“We’re not aware that anyone at the party head office or any officials had any involvement at all”, he said.
Liberal State President Michael Kroger raised concerns after he discovered there has been overspending in the 2014 state election campaign.
November 2013 – IBAC says an investigation of Mr Mantach and other senior Liberal officials is not warranted.
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Liberal sources familiar with the details of Mantach’s Victorian employment insist that, while they were aware of a minor credit card problem, they did not know of the $47,981.78 in personal spending in Tasmania. He is a person of integrity. So let’s see where this investigation goes.
