(LAWFUEL) – The Australian Federal Police has become aware this morning of an article in Fairfax newspapers outlining a security breach of sensitive documents which allegedly took place in Kathmandu.
The breach is believed to have involved an officer using a USB stick in a hotel computer.
The AFP can confirm that a number of AFP officers were in Nepal at the time in response to the plane crash that claimed 18 victims including two Australians.
The team consisted of an AFP Senior Liaison Officer from Bangladesh and a Disaster Victim Identification team from Australia. The team were assisting the Nepalese authorities to identify the victims of the crash to enable their repatriation back to Australia.
The AFP has initiated an immediate high level external review of the circumstances surrounding this matter including referring the matter to the Professional Standards Unit for investigation.
The officer allegedly involved in the security breach will be returned to Australia to assist the investigation.
The AFP can confirm allegations made by an AFP officer in a personal email detailing the CIA is not accurate.
Whilst the full circumstances surrounding the security breach are yet to be established, the AFP has spoken to the families of the Australian victims and unreservedly apologised for any additional distress it may have caused.
