Former Melbourne gallery employee charged over alleged $8m theft
A former senior employee of the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia has been charged with stealing about $8m by buying mobile phones on the gallery's account and reselling them for profit.
Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog has charged a former senior employee of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) with stealing roughly $8m from the institution over a six-year period.
According to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), the man allegedly used an NGV account to purchase mobile phones worth approximately $8m, which he then sold on for personal financial gain. He faces seven counts of theft and one count of misconduct in public office, with the alleged conduct occurring between September 2019 and September 2025.
IBAC said it opened an investigation into allegations of corrupt conduct, theft and misuse of position by the former employee in September last year. He is scheduled to appear before Melbourne magistrates court on October 20.
A spokesperson for the gallery confirmed that NGV had been the victim of financial fraud carried out by an individual staff member. The matter was reported to Victoria Police and IBAC in September 2025, and the employee's contract was terminated at that time.
Since then, the gallery says it has put in place a range of new measures and controls aimed at strengthening its financial systems and processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
