A Vanuatu-based accountant with links to KPMG has been charged with defrauding the Australian commonwealth of more than A$10m (£5m) by promoting an offshore tax avoidance scheme. Brian Francis Fox has been charged with one count of conspiring to defraud the country. This carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' jail and a fine of A$220,000, reports The Australian newspaper. Five other men are included in the indictment, two of whom have also been charged. The asset-stripping scheme was allegedly designed to leave Australian companies in a position where they were unable to pay their tax bills. Fox works at Vanuatu's Hawkes Law, which until 2002 was known as KPMG. It is an independent firm with a correspondent relationship with the Big Four firm. A Hawkes Law spokesman said the allegations pre-date Fox's employment with the firm, when he was working in Australia. In April this year, investigators arrested Vanuatu-based accountant Robert Agius on allegations of money laundering. The two cases are not thought to be connected.