On Friday, World Vision’s chief financial officer, Gordon Allison, said the charity was “deeply concerned by the allegations of inappropriate conduct” and had called in Victoria Police and auditors KPMG “to undertake a formal, independent investigation of this matter''. “We have engaged workplace investigation and mediation service iHR Australia to conduct an investigation into the role of a staff member in the matter; and notified the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission,” Mr Allison said. “We have temporarily suspended the staff member named in the allegations, pending the outcome of the investigations.” Zane, left, and his father Glenn Kuramoto. An investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald reveals World Vision executive Zane Kuramoto — the suspended staff member — recommended that the charity engage his father, Glenn, in 2013 as an adviser to oversee the $2.5 million printing and marketing contracts the charity relies on to do mass mail-outs and promotions to donors. Former World Vision manager Dean Mills said of the decision to hire Glenn Kuramoto: “Zane, who headed that area, said, ‘my father has been in the industry for a number of years’.”

Zane Kuramoto has been one of the faces of World Vision as it seeks donors to respond to humanitarian crises. Having run its marketing department, he was recently seconded to be global director of content. After Glenn Kuramoto was hired by World Vision, he sought a deal with the Docklands printing group. The group would get the lucrative contract but it was asked for a trip to Bali for Mr Kuramoto snr. After the contract was awarded, Docklands received a demand for monthly payments to him. Hi Guys, Following are my thoughts on compensation for my part in delivering the [World Vision Australia] Account to Docklands [printers]. Glenn Kuramoto, father of World Vision executive, Zane Kuramoto, in an email to printing contractors.. Emails sent by Glenn Kuramoto suggest he was paid $3000 a month over a number of years. His son, Zane, in his senior position at World Vision, extended the printing contracts, which had the effect of delivering his father further windfalls. There is no suggestion Zane knew of, or was party to, his father’s corruption. Zane said last week he was confident he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. He declined to answer specific questions, including the appropriateness of suggesting his father get a job with the charity. In December 2018, World Vision transferred the printing contract from Docklands to a closely aligned company, the Waratah Group. The group was also owned by Mr Chalmers and Mr Kernahan.

In late 2019, Waratah itself collapsed, owing staff, the tax office and creditors millions of dollars. After this, World Vision transferred the printing contract to another business, Finsbury Green. This business employs both Mr Kernahan and Mr Chalmers. The scandal is the worst faced by World Vision Australia in its history and will rock the charity sector and federal government, which funds it along with tens of thousands of Australians. Trust is a key component in maintaining relationships with donors. Claire Rogers when she was appointed CEO of World Vision in 2017. Credit:Jason South The NGO was led by Tim Costello until 2016, when Ms Rogers, a former ANZ bank executive, took the helm promising to “bring World Vision, Australia’s best-known humanitarian agency, into the 21st century”. Its board, which includes former NSW Police chief commissioner Andrew Scipione, was briefed on the allegations last week. The scandal is exposed in dozens of files. Emails sent from Glenn Kuramoto’s Gmail account show he told Mr Chalmers and Mr Kernahan — one a director and one a part-owner of the Docklands operation — that he expected personal payments in return for "delivering the WVA (World Vision) account to Docklands".

On May 6, 2013, he wrote: "Without my involvement in the RFP (request for proposal) and tender process, I don't believe Docklands would have been invited to submit (its successful tender proposal)." He told Mr Chalmers and Mr Kernahan that they had been given the inside running in the World Vision tender process: "The document was written in a way that it gave Docklands a definite advantage to win the contract," he wrote. “In doing this, it placed me in a pretty vulnerable position, but due to my loyalty to Docklands, it was a risk I was prepared to take. As I believe it was to [sic] good an opportunity for Docklands and myself. As it turned out, the risk was worth taking and hope the contract grows to the predicted 4-6 million.” CFO Gordon Allison told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald that the cost of printing and mail distribution in 2019 was $2.5 million. In the same email, Glenn Kuramoto demanded ongoing kickbacks that would be financed by the money World Vision paid Docklands. “How does 1% of the $4-6 million i.e. $40,000-60,000 pa for the length of the contract,” Mr Kuramoto snr wrote to Mr Chalmers and Mr Kernahan. One email from Mr Chalmers about the kickback request states: “delete after reading.” In another 2013 email, Mr Kuramoto snr demanded that Mr Chalmers and Docklands pay for him and his wife to fly to Bali.

Invoices and emails, along with the testimony of an insider, suggest that Mr Chalmers wired Mr Kuramoto snr a $3000 monthly payment over several years. For instance, an invoice for $3000 for “consultancy fee” marked “00085” was sent in August 2018 to Mr Chalmers. Documents show that in 2016 and again in 2017, Zane Kuramoto, in his senior position at World Vision, signed off on a year-long printing contract extensions for Docklands. Mr Chalmers signed the contract extension documents on behalf of Docklands. The contract was transferred to the Waratah Group the following year and then to Finsbury Green in 2019, with both companies closely aligned to Mr Chalmers and Mr Kernahan. Mr Chalmers denied any impropriety. He claimed the Bali trip for Glenn Kuramoto was given prior to the printing contract tender process, however, company files show it was given after his firm began seeking the contract. When Mr Chalmers was asked why he arranged free flights to Bali for Mr Kuramoto snr, he said: “That’s got nothing to do with anything.”

While Mr Kuramoto snr emailed Mr Kernahan his demands for secret payments, there is no evidence that the former AFL star and former Carlton president had direct involvement in any misconduct. Mr Kernahan declined to answers questions but said in a text message he was “shocked” and needed to “do some investigation on what you’re talking about before responding”. While Mr Bradley was a shareholder or director of the key printing firms tied to the scandal, there is no suggestion he had any involvement in misconduct. Mr Kuramoto snr told The Age and Herald that Zane had got him the job advising World Vision about the printing contract and associated tender process and documents. When quizzed about corrupting the contract process, an apparently shocked Mr Kuramoto snr said: “I don’t know what to tell you.” He then hung up. In a Sunday afternoon announcement to staff, Ms Rogers said she was resigning as CEO of World Vision Australia over the "personal costs" of the role.

Loading "Poverty is unforgiving and indiscriminate ... I’ve learnt that you cannot unsee what you have seen ... The truth is, nothing prepares you for the waves of sorrow and empathy that sometimes threaten to become overwhelming," she wrote. Ms Rogers and organisation chair Shannon Adams insisted the resignation had nothing to do with the alleged corruption, though it had influenced them to bring forward the announcement from its planned timing on Wednesday. nickmckenzie@protonmail.com