Airport staffer pleads guilty to $1.8m fraud

  • 26/07/2016
Kimiangatau was able to obtain the funds by altering the bank account numbers of clients to match her own (File)
Kimiangatau was able to obtain the funds by altering the bank account numbers of clients to match her own (File)

An accounts clerk who defrauded Auckland International Airport of $1.8 million over the 18 years she worked there has appeared at Auckland District Court.

On Tuesday, 53-year-old Teremoana Kimiangatau pleaded guilty to three charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of obtaining by deception.

Kimiangatau transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars from the airport's bank account into her own.

She was able to obtain the funds by altering the bank account numbers of clients to match her's through her use of the airport's accounting system.

Auckland International Airport dismissed Kimiangatau and reported the matter to the SFO in February this year.

SFO director Julie Read said checks and balances need to be in place in order to detect fraud.

"Most importantly, those checks need to be taken seriously as opposed to treating them as nothing more than a box-ticking exercise," she said.

"Kimiangatau's responsibilities allowed her to pass invoices for authorisation many times and make changes to client information without being challenged."

Kimiangatau will appear at the Auckland District Court on November 9, 2016.

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