Former NGV Executive Charged Over $5.6 Million Smartphone Scheme

A former senior executive at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne faces eight criminal charges over the alleged theft of approximately AUD 8 million ($5.6 million) from the museum over six years.

According to ArtAsiaPacific, which first reported the case, the unnamed former employee allegedly used a work account to purchase smartphones and then resold them for profit. Authorities allege he exploited his senior position at the museum to conceal the scheme.

The alleged theft began in September 2019 and continued until September 2025, when the museum discovered it. The gallery reported the matter to Victoria Police and dismissed the employee.

Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission then conducted a year-long investigation. The former executive has now been charged with eight offenses: seven counts of theft and one count of misconduct in public office. He is scheduled to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on October 20.

The case is unusual in both its scale and its method. Museum fraud cases involving tens of millions of dollars typically concern artworks, acquisitions or vendor contracts. Here, prosecutors allege a far simpler mechanism — bulk smartphone purchases on an institutional account — sustained over six years without detection.

The National Gallery of Victoria, founded in 1861, is Australia's oldest public art museum. Its collection comprises more than 80,000 works and is valued at AUD 4.8 billion ($3.3 billion), according to ArtAsiaPacific. The collection was reportedly unaffected by the alleged theft.

The gallery has not publicly named the former executive, and no allegation of wrongdoing has been levelled at the institution itself. The October 20 court appearance will be the first test of a prosecution built on the anti-corruption commission's year-long inquiry, and its outcome may prompt closer scrutiny of procurement controls at Australian state cultural institutions.