Infosys paid lobbying firm Synergy 360 $16 million over five years to secure Australian government projects. This was revealed by Infosys Australia Executive Vice President Andrew Groth during a hearing of the Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA). Gross said Infosys had terminated its relationship with the lobbying firm.

Synergy 360 is during a political storm and has been linked to former MP Stuart Robert.

The development comes amid reports that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) executives have committed a “bribe-for-jobs” scam, which the firm is investigating.

Infosys beat Accenture and IBM in November 2019 to win a deal for Australia’s federal government service to revamp the entitlement calculation engine of the state welfare system.

“Infosys engages with third-party lobbyists occasionally,” Gross said. Synergy 360 was appointed in 2019, undergoes an onboarding process, and adheres to a vendor code of conduct.

Synergy 360 was appointed to advise several public sector businesses and help us design, build and deliver IT solutions. I want to inform the committee that the relationship with the company has ended.”

Gross said Infosys had taken steps to strengthen internal governance in Australia, including additional mandatory training for all government workers.

He told the committee that Infosys had been doing business in Australia for 22 years. “Much of the business is in the commercial sector, such as financial services, utilities, etc. Infosys has strategically collaborated with the government sector, so Synergy 360 was hired to help Infosys grow the government business.”