Agency heads Controversies Firepower International Between 2004 and 2006, Austrade reportedly granted special access privileges and funds totalling $394,009 to the fraudulent company Firepower International, which also provided employment to two former senior Austrade managers in Europe and Russia. The agency denied Firepower had received special treatment. However, perceived legitimation of Firepower's activities by Austrade undoubtedly helped promote tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent share sales to the Australian public "without proper disclosure documents in breach of the Corporations Act". Possibly because of the close involvement of senior diplomats and politicians, including then prime minister John Howard and senior minister Julie Bishop, in the scandal, Austrade did not initiate prosecutions against Tim Johnston and other Firepower principals, as it had previously done against relatively minor perceived offenders such as Western Australian town planner and inventor Paul Ritter, who was imprisoned in the late 1980s on charges of making inappropriate export-grant applications. Securency It has been alleged that Austrade officials knew about alleged bribes paid by officials from the Reserve Bank of Australia's Securency scandal. RBA subsidiaries were involved in bribing overseas officials so that Australia might win lucrative polymer note-printing contracts, and it has been has been alleged that Austrade officials knew of payments to a Vietnamese spy chief to secure contracts for printing banknotes. See also Australian economy Tourism in Australia References Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia Foreign trade of Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)