June 14th 2023.
A former Coles executive has admitted to stealing $1.9 million from the national supermarket giant, leaving the court in shock. Judge Duncan Allen expressed confusion as to why Aaron Baslangic never attempted to cover his tracks, and why he left the majority of the funds untouched in a bank account until he was caught.
As a finance executive at Coles Online, Baslangic could authorise payments up to $75,000. In early 2019, he orchestrated 14 illegal payments ranging from $10,000 to more than $400,000. To cover his tracks, he altered emails to make it appear his supervisor approved the transfers. The payments were mainly sent to fictitious businesses with a bank account in his name, and some were sent to the Australian Taxation Office, which was then redirected into his own accounts.
Baslangic also had some more lavish spending ventures, such as transferring money to real estate agents he rented through, a BMW dealership to pay off his leased car, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He also splurged on luxury retailers such as Jimmy Choo, Cartier, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton.
On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining property by deception, financial advantage by deception and making a false document. Baslangic appeared in court via video link dressed in prison greens, and had already paid back his former employer more than $1.3 million.
Judge Allen was shocked at Baslangic's strangely unsophisticated and bizarre conduct. "Brazen, that's one word for it, the other word is incredibly stupid," he said. "A year 12 student could have worked out where this money was going."
The court heard that Baslangic came from an educated family in Turkey, with his dad being a journalist and his mum working in a bank. He had an electronic engineering degree and earned a master of business administration after immigrating to Australia. At the time of his offending, his wife was suffering from a degenerative disease that left her so unwell she couldn't work and Baslangic said their relationship was breaking down.
The court heard he had some mental health issues, and Judge Allen ordered Baslangic to undergo further psychiatric testing. This testing is intended to help shed some light on the reasons behind his crime and the state of his mental health. The case will return to court on August 9.
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