Cryptoloc Holdings liquidated months after winning $15m Queensland government contract

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Queensland government is investigating tender progresses after a multi-million-dollar contract with a politically connected cyber-security company was cancelled.

Transcript

00:00For the past decade, Brisbane's cybersecurity entrepreneur Jamie Wilson has been a mover

00:07and shaker.

00:10As the headline feature at big charity events, he's been shoulder to shoulder with pop stars

00:15and chatted to social media influencers.

00:18Politicians such as the ALP's then-premier Stephen Miles and the LMP's Brisbane Lord

00:22Mayor Adrian Schrinner have endorsed his business.

00:26Donation records show his venture spent more than $320,000 on both sides of politics.

00:32A crowning achievement was last September when the Miles Labor government awarded his

00:36Cryptolock holdings to run a $15 million cybersecurity program.

00:41Things rapidly went haywire.

00:44The ABC revealed his business problems in November.

00:47The department started asking questions within weeks.

00:50By January, after allegedly failing to get a sufficient response, it cancelled the contract.

00:55Then this month, the government sued and tipped the company into liquidation, demanding

01:00back $1.5 million already advanced.

01:03And that's all on a deal that was supposed to run for three years.

01:07Risk experts believe a post-mortem is needed to investigate what went wrong with the failed

01:11contract.

01:12It's not a common event and certainly something that the governments would want to avoid.

01:16Peter Dean says due diligence includes understanding a company's financial stability and record of

01:22directors.

01:23Engaging start-up, particularly in these technology areas, is again somewhat riskier than if you're

01:30contracting with, let's say, a large multinational corporate.

01:33Lance McCallum, Labor's small business minister at the time the contract was signed, says it

01:38was independently awarded by the department.

01:41The current minister, the LNP's Steve Minikin, says tender processes are now under examination.

01:47But the Greens have questions about a contract win for a company with links to large political

01:52donations to both major parties.

01:54How is it that they stuffed that up so badly, that the contract's been awarded and within

01:59months, weeks of that, the company's fallen over?

02:02We clearly need some tighter processes around whether or not tenderers for projects like

02:07this actually have the capacity to deliver.

02:09Some of Mr Wilson's Cryptolock companies remain active, but he has not responded to the ABC's

02:14queries.

02:15And the state's lawyers say they haven't been able to contact Cryptolock Holdings since December.

02:20It's not been business as usual.

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