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John Friedrich, 41, takes his secrets to the grave
MELBOURNE: The former head
of the Victorian National Safety
Council, John Friedrich, has been
found shot dead near Sale in Victo-
ria's south-east, police confirmed late
last night.
A police spokesman said Fried-
rich's body had been found in a pad-
dock near his family property in
Seaton, about 30km north-west of
Sale.
The spokesman said a firearm had
been found near Friedrich's body.
Police believe there are no suspi-
cious circumstances.
Friedrich was facing 103 Victorian
fraud charges involving about $265
million arising from the collapse of
the NSC in Victoria.
Friedrich, the con-man who per-
suaded bankers and respectable busi-
nessmen to lend himself and the
Victoria NSCA tens of millions on the
basis of forged invoices, empty con-
tainers and mysterious suggestions of
links with intelligence and security
agencies, went on the run in March,
1989 when it became clear that he was
going to be exposed.
By then the National Safety Coun-
cil had debts of up to $244 million,
with the State Bank of Victoria
dunned for about $100 million. After
national publicity, in which he be-
came a Ned Kelly figure to some, he
was arrested in a small town south of
Perth, 16 days after he had disap-
peared.
He had since had numerous court
appearances, both to answer fraud
charges, face personal bankruptcy and
to give evidence at inquests into the
NSC collapse.
Friedrich, born in Munich, Germa-
ny, in 1950, to a Christian minister,
often made fantastic claims about his
background and experience.
Even now, little has emerged pub-
licly about how he came to Australia
and came to a position of influence at
the NSC.
Friedrich's scam consisted primari-
ly of massively understating liabilities,
and by vast overstatements of assets
and money owing to the council. The
liquidators of the NSC found that in
1988 the NSC accounts listed trade
debtors owing $62.5 million. The liq-
uidators' assessment was that it was
owed a mere $840,000. Discrepancies
in 1987 and 1986 were similarly vast.
When caught he had very little
money. He takes many of the secrets
of its fate to the grave.
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