Former V/Line CEO James Pinder jailed for corruption and secret commissions

A former V/Line chief executive has been jailed and is facing deportation, after admitting to misconduct in public office and receiving secret commissions.

Four other people were also sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to their part in the corruption scandal involving the awarding of major contracts within V/Line and Metro to cleaning company Transclean.

An IBAC investigation, which used video surveillance, telephone intercepts and hidden cameras, uncovered that valuable cleaning contracts were awarded and extended.

The value of the cleaning contracts, and the variations to them, was in the order of $40 million initially, with variations to the end of March 2019 to more than $54 million.

James Pinder, 58, was sacked as V/Line CEO after his appearance before a public inquiry into the matter and charged with misconduct in public office.

The court heard he had established an undeclared relationship with Transclean boss George Haritos and corruptly received $330,000 dollars influencing him to favour Transclean.

The bulk of those funds were used to purchase a home in Williamstown after he was refused a bank loan.

He was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment, and must serve one year and nine months before becoming eligible for parole.

Pinder, who was born in West London, is now facing deportation.

"As of today you are uncertain as to whether you will be of liberty in the Australian community again," Judge Todd said.

Haritos, 71, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to give a secret commission and two charges of giving a secret commission.

Judge Todd described him as the "common denominator" in almost every event.

His family wept as he was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

He will be eligible for parole in a year and five months.

Haritos' brother in-law and Transclean director Alex Kyritsis, 69, and his nephew Steven Kyritsis, 42, who was a Transclean employee, were each given community correction orders for their part — pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to give a secret commission and giving a secret commission respectively

Maria Tsakopoulos, 45, who had been in a relationship with Haritos until early this year, was also given a community corrections order for conspiracy to destroy evidence and giving a secret commission.

She was accused of creating and planning to destroy a sham document, created for the purpose of attempting to explain the cash flow of $320,000 into Mr Pinder's bank account.

Steven Collin, a solicitor, earlier pleaded guilty in the Magistrates' Court to a charge of conspiracy to destroy a document.

He was convicted and was earlier sentenced to a one-year community corrections order.

Former Metro trains manager Peter Bollas was sentenced in 2024 to a community corrections order for three years and six months.