Fabricated letters and the ‘lone wolf’ who CTM says overcharged UK government $240m

April 25, 2026 — 12:00pm

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Australia’s Contiki tourists gearing up for another summer of European debauchery will have a tough time keeping up with the alleged antics of our big tourism operators.

In February, Web Travel Group plummeted to an 11-year low after announcing that its Spanish arm had been raided by local tax authorities.

Weeks ago, Katrina Barry, the boss of Web Travel’s former consumer arm Webjet, announced her departure amid a tanking share price and an unfair dismissal lawsuit from its former top lawyer, Meaghan Simpson, who alleges she was bullied.

But they both pale into insignificance against the scandal unfolding in the UK with another ASX-listed travel group, Corporate Travel Management.

The announcement to the market this week that it had overcharged various arms of the British government by as much as £128 million ($240 million) – a significant upgrade from a previous estimate of £78 million ($160 million) – was a sideshow to other shocking revelations about its UK business, which was already a magnet for controversy.

The overpayments relate to a multitude of projects, and almost certainly include Corporate Travel’s £1.6 billion contract to accommodate UK asylum seekers on barges. The deal was designed to cut hotel use that had been costing British taxpayers millions of pounds a day.

Aussie travel investors get a European tour from hell

One of the barges, the Bibby Stockholm, became a high-profile, deeply divisive symbol of the UK conservative government’s hardline approach to asylum seekers, and triggered clashes between police and protesters.

But it was difficult for analysts and investors to........

© Brisbane Times