A former chief executive of a rural Victorian credit union faces up to five years jail after he allegedly withheld knowledge relating to a rigged board election in 2015.Peter Kevin Challis, 59, of Albury, New South Wales, yesterday appeared before the Wodonga Magistrates Court on a criminal charge following an ASIC investigation.In November 2015, the WAW Credit Union - an APRA-licensed deposit taker based in Wodonga - conducted an electronic election for two board vacancies.After the election had been declared the board discovered that 627 ballots had been cast from the same internet protocol address.ASIC alleges that Mr Challis knew the owner of the IP address from which the ballots were cast and did not inform the WAW board.According to ASIC, the former CEO either dishonestly or recklessly failed to discharge his duties in good faith in the best interests of the credit union.In a background statement issued yesterday, ASIC said that one of the unsuccessful candidates, Tracey Toohey, would have been elected to the board if the 627 votes had not been cast through the IP address.Toohey had been a director of the company since 2008 until her failed bid for re-election in 2015.Earlier this year a Wodonga financial adviser, Neil Evans, pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court to unauthorised voting in the WAW board election.He was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond and prohibited from giving financial advice to WAW customers.Challis' 20-year reign at the credit union came to an end in September 2016. His departure was announced in the credit union's annual report published the following month. The board praised Challis in the 2016 annual report for his contribution to the credit union but did not disclose to members any details of their investigation into the 2015 election irregularities."During the tenure of Peter Challis, the credit union has gone from strength to strength, with all the key indicators improving," the board told WAW members."The credit union is in a sustainable position due to the qualities that Peter and his management team have instilled in the credit union."The governance controversy did not even rate a mention in the formal directors' report the following year, although the board appeared to qualify its silence by stating that disclosure of some likely developments could "result in unreasonable prejudice to the credit union".The matter brought against Mr Challis has been listed for a committal mention in the Wodonga Magistrates' Court on 27 November.

UPDATE:  In September 2023 the DPP dropped the charge against Peter Challis.