A former senior manager at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has been hit with criminal charges, including allegedly providing the regulator with false documents while he was the chief executive of a credit union.
Brisbane man Lyndon Allen Kingston, who was recruited from the banking watchdog by Bananacoast Community Credit Union (BCU) but sacked as CEO in 2017, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Mr Kingston appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court last Friday, charged with making and using a false document with the intention of dishonestly inducing a public official to accept it as genuine.
He is also accused of providing BCU false information and dishonestly using his position as a BCU director.
In a civil lawsuit last year, BCU accused its former boss of repeatedly evading APRA's queries about a contract with a company that paid him secret commissions, then doctoring paperwork to throw the regulator off the scent.
Mr Kingston had sued BCU for breach of contract and unpaid bonuses, but the lawsuit was settled out of court.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which investigated Mr Kingston for more than a year, is alleging the offences took place between December 2015 and August 2017.
Mr Kingston was previously a senior manager in APRA's specialised institutions division, where he supervised credit unions, including BCU, before it recruited him in 2008.
Under his leadership, BCU turned annual profits of up to $9 million and was named the top Australian credit union of 2016 by Money Magazine.
Mr Kingston was released on bail and is due to appear in court on February 14 next year.
