CHH in Amcor web

Carter Holt Harvey has been dragged into the scandal engulfing Australian packaging giant Amcor.

Carter Holt employed former Amcor employees as consultants and gave them documents that have since been seized. The company is trying to get them back.

New Zealand's largest forestry company was yesterday distancing itself from the Amcor story.

Amcor sacked chief executive Russell Jones after an internal investigation triggered by an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission probe into the corrugated box market in Australia.

Amcor and Visy are the two biggest players in that market and Carter Holt has a 4 per cent share.

Carter Holt said it had not been approached by either the ACCC or New Zealand's Commerce Commission. It was not aware of any related practices or issues that would give rise to an investigation.

However, Carter Holt confirmed that on November 1 last year it engaged a consultancy called AMCG, set up by former Amcor employees.

Amcor and the former employees are involved in a case in Australia's Federal Court.

Amcor alleges the former employees took confidential information, according to Australian media reports.

When Amcor recovered documents from AMCG offices on November 11, it took information belonging to Carter Holt, the company says.

Carter Holt wants the information returned and says it has made legal representations to Amcor.

"When we engaged this consultancy we were completely unaware of the issues brewing with their former employer," said Rhys Jones, the Carter Holt executive in charge of pulp, paper and packaging.

"While we see no reason to change our current arrangement with AMCG, we will continue to review the relationship in light of recent developments."

He said Carter Holt had not been interested in information about the consultants' former employer, Amcor.