The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has been duped by its former employee who swindled $600,000. It was apparently an inside job.

The former facilities manager of the RBA, Megha Mizerni, had pleaded guilty to the charge of obtaining property by deception. Mr Mizerni is currently waiting for the sentence to be given by the County Court of Victoria.

The Australian Federal Police charged Mr Mizerni after the Reserve Bank of Australia filed a complaint against the ex-employee for the missing money.

Mr Mizerni previously worked at the bank's office in Collins Street, Melbourne, and obtained the $600,000 by falsely issuing invoices for maintenance services for about 18 months.

A spokeswoman for the RBA said that the incident was immediately reported to the Australian Federal Police. The police investigated the case and charges were laid out. Mr Mizerni did not deny the allegations and is now awaiting sentence for the crime.

The RBA is currently taking the necessary steps to recover the stolen money. The bank expects total recovery of $600,000.

Meanwhile, another reserve bank employee is also facing charges. Senior research scientist Wayne Kevin Jackson stood in trial in January 2013 after he was charged with three counts of dealing with crime money, allegedly over $300,000.

He was also charged for attempting to pocket $47,550 from the Reserve Bank between May 2010 and May 2012. Unlike Mr Mizerni, Mr Jackson said he was not guilty of the charges.

Deterring fraud

According to KPMG Fraud Barometer, fraud has cost businesses in Australia a total of $373 million in the last two years. Among the 281 companies that participated in the survey, only 15 per cent saw fraud as a risk to business.

Fraud experts said the amount reported could only be a fraction of the actual cost since many cases of fraud remain undetected or unreported by companies.

Experts recommend business owners should check on the finances of the business to monitor financial accounts. If there is poor supervision of staff, the company is vulnerable to fraud and employees could get away with a lot of money.

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