KPMG and WA Police called in after Wesfarmers’s Workwear division hit by suspected theft

Wesfarmers has called in police and private fraud investigators to probe a suspected swindle on its Workwear Group uniform and safety gear arm. WA Police and KPMG investigators are understood to be examining allegations that a once-trusted staff member was running an online sales operation for stolen Workwear stock. It is understood the police probe is being carried by Superintendent Rob Anderson’s financial crimes squad, which has been set up to unravel suspected big and complex frauds. Supt. Anderson could not be contacted, but a police spokesman confirmed the probe was with his division and it was an “ongoing investigation”. The suspected frauds are believed to be focussed on WA and involved hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Workwear gear being stored and sold away from the Wesfarmers division. Workwear is a national operation and is part of Wesfarmers’s industrial and safety division, which also includes tools and equipment supplier Blackwoods and high-end supplier Coregas. Wesfarmers has been tight-lipped about the probe, with a spokeswoman saying “this is a matter that is with the police and under investigation”. One source said WA staff had been told about the suspected rorts and the investigation.