Former Auckland City employee Sundeep Kilip Rasila was sentenced to five and a half months home detention for corruption after giving a friend the inside running on a procurement contract and suppressing better bids.
The High Court was told Rasila had Council responsibility to get the best deals for office supplies over a five year period ending 2016. He manipulated the Council tender process for bulk purchases of USB devices, purchased to replace compact discs previously used as digital copies of property files purchased by the public.
Aware of the planned Council switch to USB devices, Rasila personally got quotes from Chinese manufacturers for a bulk order. Armed with this information, he approached acquaintance Sunil Chand recommending he put in a tender for supply. Rasila had previously boarded with Mr Chand’s family and the two previously worked together. Mr Chand quoted in the name of his business: On Time Print Finishers Ltd. Mr Chand’s bid for the supply of 22,000 USB devices was accepted by Council management as the lowest bid. The High Court was told Rasila supressed one lower bid in his recommendation to Council and did not disclose his earlier direct enquiries of Chinese suppliers. Rasila was paid $7500 by Mr Chand after the first consignment was delivered; payment for ‘facilitating’ the contract. A further $7500 was due following a subsequent delivery of a second consignment. Receiving payment amounted to corrupt acceptance of a bribe, in breach of the Crimes Act.
R. v. Rasila – High Court (12.05.20)
20.078