The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the charges of bribing foreign officials in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, against the two firms and six of their former employees, followed international investigations in cooperation with legal bodies in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The AFP has alleged that senior managers from Securency and Note Printing Australia used international sales agents to bribe foreign officials between 1999 and 2005 to secure banknote contracts.

Securency International was founded in 1996 as a joint venture between the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and global specialty materials manufacturer Innovia Films.

Note Printing Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBA and manages the sites where Australia's banknotes are produced.

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