Victoria police say they are considering further charges over alleged fraud in the construction sector after a senior CFMEU union official was arrested over allegedly threatening to kill an Indigenous labour-hire owner.
Police also confirmed the appearance of former Victorian Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union leader John Setka at two taxpayer-funded projects did not constitute an offence.
It comes after a series of allegations of organised criminal links, bribery and bullying within the construction branch of the union were published in Nine newspapers.
In a statement on Friday, police said they assessed 20 allegations of “potential criminal activity involving the CFMEU as reported in the media”, with eight deemed to be within their remit.
They said detectives from the financial crime squad were continuing to assess allegations – including the intimidation of a developer, for which no criminal offence has been identified to date.
Police said there were also allegations of fraud within the building industry which were already being investigated prior to media reporting.
“This is a complex investigation that is still being assessed by external lawyers and will take some time to complete. Charges are currently being considered,” police said.
A senior CFMEU official, aged 40, was also arrested on Thursday regarding allegations that the owners of a labour-hire company were threatened. Police said the Beveridge man had been charged with threats to kill and threat to inflict serious injury.
A further 12 allegations were assessed by Victoria police and would be referred to other agencies such as the Australian federal police and the Fair Work Commission, the statement said.
No further action would be taken regarding allegations of intimidation and threatening behaviour over a video purportedly showing Setka delivering a suitcase with the words “Leo the Dog” to the home of the union’s assistant national secretary, Leo Skourdoumbi. Police said the person subject to the alleged behaviour was unwilling to make a statement.
The CFMEU’s national secretary, Zach Smith, has previously said the allegations were “very concerning” and had been taken seriously by the union, pointing to an independent investigation and a governance review.
“These allegations remain exactly that – allegations – completely untested in the legal system,” he said last month.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, on Thursday confirmed Setka had spoken to workers at a Metro Tunnel project site earlier that morning, less than 24 hours after he appeared at another government project – the Footscray hospital redevelopment. She said the director general of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority had referred the matter to police.
A police spokesperson said its assessment found no offence had occurred because trespassing required a person be asked to leave by an authorised person and a refusal within a reasonable time frame.
“There is no evidence that this occurred on Wednesday or Thursday, therefore there has been no trespass offence committed,” the spokesperson said.
