Government worker, wife and building firm boss face corruption and fraud charges over $71m crime

A government worker, his wife and directors of a building company have been charged with fraud and corruption offences over a multi-million dollar government contract.

The trio from the Northern Territory are accused by the AFP of being involved in a conspiracy to influence the awarding of tenders to their company from the Department of Defence worth almost $71 million.

The worker allegedly "exploited his position to influence the allocation of building contracts to the building company and a subsidiary company owned by the co-conspirators."

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The AFP, supported by the Department of Defence and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), executed multiple search warrants on businesses and homes across greater Darwin on Friday.

They seized mobile phones and laptops, a gun, jewellery, $30,000 in cash and a small quantity of what's thought to be cocaine.

All three face multiple charges which carry up to 10 years in jail.

They include dishonestly gaining a benefit from a Commonwealth entity, namely the Department of Defence.

The Commonwealth employee was also charged with abuse of public office.

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AFP Superintendent Greg Davis said abuse of public office or corruption was "not only criminal but also a serious breach of public trust".

"Defrauding the Commonwealth is a crime that prevents public funds from being used to support the wider Australian community, and we will not hesitate to investigate suspected criminal activity to bring offenders to justice," Supt Davis said.