The deliberate illegal destruction of records is an area of concern to all. The following stories may serve as a warning against all unauthorised destruction of records.

The penalties for deliberately destroying documents, especially those related to litigation are high. These examples show why a properly documented disposal authority is crucial.

Alteration of Records

Breaches of Privacy

Breakdowns in Accountability

Catastrophes

Deliberate or Illegal Destruction of Records

Inadequate Corporate Recordkeeping Systems

Inappropriate Disposal of Records

Non-compliance

Operational and Organisational Failures

Deliberate or Illegal Destruction of Records

Lidl destroyed records linked to discrimination probe

Supermarket chain Lidl destroyed records containing the age of job applicants when it discovered it was under investigation by the Equality Tribunal for age discrimination.The matter came to light during the investigation of a complaint by a 51-year-old man who said he was not interviewed for the job of district manager at Lidl because he was too old.

Source The Irish Examiner March 22 2005

Pan Pharmaceutical Boss in court for destroying drug test records

Founder of Pan Pharmaceuticals Jim Selim faced a Sydney court last March for allegedly ordering the destruction of records that were needed in future court proceedings.  Prosecutors claim Selim ordered IT manager Karl Brooks to destroy manipulated test results of a recalled drug, however the jury was asked to disregard Brooks as a reliable witness as he is the one who made the claim. The trial continues.

Source ABC News Online March 2006

Fidelity Investments fined US$2 million for encouraging employees to destroy records

Fidelity Investments was fined US$2 million dollars after it was discovered that staff working for numerous branches of the brokerage arm of the company had been encouraged to alter or destroy records. The aim of this illegal destruction of documents was reportedly to achieve better scores in the company’s annual inspection.

Source: thestreet.com

FBI records outlining abuse of terrorism defendants destroyed

The Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the Government would investigate claims made in emails sent by the former Guantanamo Bay prosecutors Captain John Carr and Major Robert Preston, alleging [that] documents from the FBI outlining the abuse of defendants while being detained were destroyed

Source Sydney Morning Herald 2 August 2005

California INS centre destroys 90 thousand original documents

Two employees of a Western Californian branch of the INS were indicted recently for ordering low-level employees to destroy documents.

Over 90 thousand documents were destroyed including American and International passports, originals of birth certificates, work permits, citizenship applications and associated documents that cannot be replaced. The documents were destroyed to reduce a growing backlog of unprocessed paperwork.

Source Global Nation

Homegold Employees destroy company records

A federal judge ruled that the former HomeGold chief executive officer and a former vice president intentionally destroyed company records that prosecutors contend are critical to helping account for investors' losses of $278 million.

The U.S. District Judge found the two in contempt of court for willfully and in bad faith destroying company records housed in Greenville.

Source The Greenville News

The Heiner Affair

In March 1990, Queensland, Australia, the State Cabinet ordered the State Archivist to shred vital public records alleging abuse of youths at the John Oxley Youth Centre in Wacol.

The Heiner documents were the records of interviews and related material gathered by retired stipendiary magistrate Noel Heiner in the course of an aborted inquiry into the Centre and its manager Mr Peter Coyne in late 1989 and early 1990.

Source John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library

More information Hurley, Chris, Shredding of the Heiner Affair Records

Associate Professor Sue McKemmish and Glenda Acland Archivists at Risk: Accountability and the Role of the Professional Society Presented to the Australian Society of Archivists 1999 Conference

Enron and Arthur Andersen

In June 2002 an American court found the accounting firm Arthur Andersen guilty on charges of unlawfully destroying documents relating to the firm’s relationship with the collapsed energy giant, Enron. Even before the company was indicted, Andersen-audited firms appear to be discounted by about 6 percent relative to non-Andersen-audited firms, clients started leaving Andersen in droves. Soon after their conviction Andersen filed for bankruptcy and soon ceased operations.

Web Sources: a search on Arthur Andersen and records destruction will deliver reference material on this subject.

More Information Final Accounting - Ambition, Greed and the Fall of Arthur Andersen Barbara Toffler and Jennifer Reingold 2003, Broadway Books

Inside Arthur Andersen: Shifting Values, Unexpected Consequences Susan E. Squires, Cynthia J. Smith, LornaMcDougall, and William R. Yeack, Financial Times Prentice Hall

Arthur Anderson conviction overturned

The supreme court has ruled that Arthur Anderson was convicted without proof that the shredding of documents was deliberately intended to undermine a looming Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry in fall 2001.

The government had not proved that the company knew they were breaking the law and therefore the conviction was overruled

Source The Washington Post

British American Tobacco

McCabe v British American Tobacco Services Ltd brought to our attention Justice Geoffrey Eames who struck out British American Tobacco's defense in the Victorian Supreme Court, citing that the creation and implementation of a document retention and destruction policy was prejudicial to the Claimant's right to a fair trial.

The Victorian Court of Appeal (6 December 2002) overturned the decision of the Victorian Supreme Court but the cost to British American Tobacco was still high given that their public image suffered as a result of the first decision.

Source Victorian Supreme Court

McCabe v British American Tobacco Services Ltd

On 6 December 2002 the Victorian Court of Appeal overturned an earlier decision of the Victorian Supreme Court. Justice Geoffrey Eames had struck out British American Tobacco's defence because of the creation and implementation of a document retention and destruction policy which was held to have prejudiced the Claimant's right to a fair trial.

Sources Victoria Centre for Tobacco Control

Web search terms: McCabe v British American Tobacco Services Ltd

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