Crucial private details of many of the world's most powerful leaders were accidentally passed on to soccer officials by the Australian government before the G20 summit last November.

In a stunning breach of security, the passport numbers and other information of leaders such as US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were inadvertently emailed to organisers of the recent Asian Cup soccer tournament.

US President Barack Obama was among the world leaders whose details were inadvertently emailed to Asian Cup organisers. Credit:Reuters

The breach occurred before the leaders arrived in Australia.