Australian Tax Office deputy commissioner Michael Cranston has quit just hours after he appeared in a NSW court over an unprecedented white-collar fraud scandal linked to his son and daughter.
The 58-year-old faced Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday after being issued with a court attendance notice last month on two charges of abusing public office to gain an advantage.
After his court appearance, the Australian Taxation Office said he'd quit as a deputy commissioner.
In May police said he may have unwittingly been caught up in an alleged $130 million tax-evasion racket involving his 30-year-old son, Adam Cranston, who was charged with conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth.
Cranston is accused of obtaining information and exercising his influence as a Commonwealth public official between February and May 2017 for the benefit of his son, according to court documents.
Cranston's 24-year-old daughter Lauren Cranston was also charged with conspiring to cause loss and dealing in the proceeds of crime, and she faced court with her father on Tuesday.
It's alleged the group accepted legitimate payroll claims through a company called Plutus Payroll and funnelled them through second-tier companies to disguise massive amounts of tax being withheld from the ATO.
Cranston, his daughter and another man charged in relation to the alleged fraud, Daniel Simon Hausman, are next scheduled to have their matters heard in court on August 29.
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