Former Fuji Xerox Australia managing director Neil Whittaker has applied to the Federal Court of Australia, on 11 September, for a cross-claim in the $450 million accounting irregularities case where Fuji Xerox Australia took Whittaker and former chief financial officer Devlin Bell to court three years after these irregularities were identified.

Whittaker was in charge of the New Zealand division of Fuji Xerox for 12 years prior to his 13-month stint as the Australian division head, which ended abruptly in May 2016 after an unannounced regional accounting audit was conducted.

Bell also left Fuji Xerox Australia at around this time.

The legal action by Fuji Xerox Australia was launched against Whittaker and Bell, along with accounting firm Ernst and Young and Ernst and Young partner E A Lang.

Along with Whittaker, Ernst and Young has also filed for a cross-claim with the Federal Court of Australia on the 4 September.

When contacted by Sprinter, Fuji Xerox Australia declined to comment as court proceedings are still underway.

“As this matter is in court, Fuji Xerox Australia is unable to comment on it. When we have information that we can share, we will be in touch with our business stakeholders and the media. Our priority is to serve our customers, and we continue to be committed to their success,” the company said, in a statement.

At the time of writing, Sprinter had requested for access to the filings from the Federal Court of Australia.

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