Australian treasurer calls alleged access to Anthony Albanese’s bank data ‘incredibly concerning’

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers reportedly announced today that a report involving multinational firm Ernst& Young found that two employees on temporary assignment at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia purportedly accessed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s personal banking details-a key development he described as “incredibly concerning.”

According to the Australian Financial Review newspaper, EY had terminated two employees who are facing criminal charges after allegedly accessing Prime Minister Albanese’s banking details. Paul Assa, 21 was charged with accessing classified information without authorisation and distributing personal data while Phillip Issa, 25 was charged with facilitating unauthorized access to restricted data.

Chalmers said in a statement: “ But I think on the face of it any developers of that kind are incredibly concerning, not just in relation to the PM’s details but any Australian’s details.”

This comes as media reports reveal that EY’s peer KPMG is facing an audit leak controversy; adding significant pressure on Big Four accounting firms after their new business revenue from the Australian federal government dropped by nearly 50% last year.

The AFR report further said that the two men deployed to CBA would have received an operational alert requiring them to confirm they were permitted to access a customer’s confidential information. Initially, a spokesperson for EY remained silent to comment, but confirmed the former employee was no longer working at the firm.

The recent incident has sparked intense scrutiny of large professional services firms after the scandal that engulfed rivals KPMG and PwC for breaches of confidential information regarding client audits and tax policies.