Aussie stole millions from top orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) has won a multi-million-dollar High Court judgement against a former Australian financial director it accuses of fraud.

Australian Cameron Poole, 35, is alleged to have used money from the publicly-funded organisation for holidays and refurbishments to his family home in southeast London.

Mr Poole left the LPO in 2008, but the orchestra says it only realised funds were owing when processing its end-of-year accounts.

On Wednesday, the orchestra's barrister, Andrew Thomas, convinced High Court judge, Justice Field, to formally enter a judgment against Mr Poole, of Herne Hill, for a total of GBP2,351,155 ($NZ5,287,360).

The sum included more than GBP100,000 (NZ$224,880) in legal costs, and the orchestra's lawyers said they would seek to enforce the judgment debt against Mr Poole's assets, which have already been frozen by the court.

Mr Thomas, told the judge that orchestra staff were "shocked and dismayed" to discover "compelling evidence of a substantial fraud upon it perpetrated by its former Finance Director".

He said it was the LPO's case that Mr Poole used orchestra cheques and credit cards to pay for the refurbishment and rear extension of his home and to buy jewellery, artwork, flights, books, clothing and other items.

"The defendant then sought to conceal those payments by making false entries in the LPO's computerised accounting system", Mr Thomas added in written submissions to the court.

Soon after the discovery of the missing money, a freezing injunction was obtained against Mr Poole's assets on November 4 last year.

Mr Thomas claimed Mr Poole had made numerous payments to himself and his building contractors and plumbers before disguising them on the LPO's accounts system as money paid to musical organisations.

He also alleged there had been "numerous misrepresentations" by Mr Poole, over-stating the orchestra's actual and likely future income and understating his own expenditure.

Mr Thomas put the orchestra's total loss at GBP2,169,779 (NZ$4,878,460).

The figure included cheque and credit card payments of more than GBP580,000 (NZ$1,304,000), a GBP82,500 (NZ$185,500) suspect bank transfer and losses of more than GBP1,500,000 (NZ$NZ$3,373,400) as a result of Mr Poole's alleged misrepresentations.

Interest of more than GBP76,000 (NZ$170,900) and legal costs were also added on Wednesday.

The LPO receives more than GPD2 million in public funding annually from the Arts Council England.

Mr Poole, an expert in charity finances who graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1993, started as the LPO's general manager and financial director in 2004.

He had full access to and control of its budget.

After considering papers in the case, Justice Field told Mr Thomas: "I am of the view that you are entitled to the order you seek".

Mr Poole was neither present, nor represented, at the brief court hearing.

The orchestra's lawyers confirmed outside court they would enforce the judgement against Mr Poole's assets "so far as we can".

- AAP