A purported $5 million extortion attempt of fugitive property developer Jean Nassif was actually a genuine request for his company Toplace to pay a contractor, a lawyer assisting the New South Wales anti-corruption watchdog has argued.
Former Toplace lawyer and executive Sharangan Maheswaran told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Wednesday he had not “dishonestly conveyed” to the building commissioner, David Chandler, that someone had attempted to extort Nassif on Chandler’s behalf.
Icac is investigating the allegation that Liberal figures Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood and Charles Perrottet took $2m in illegal donations from Nassif or Toplace in exchange for political outcomes.
Greenwood and Perrottet have denied payments were for political outcomes. Ellis has moved overseas and is not expected to give evidence. Nassif, in an appearance from his Beirut bedroom, insisted he was “not corrupt”. Maheswaran, who is named in a separate allegation by Icac, has denied any wrongdoing.
The alleged outcomes include damage to the political career of Liberal minister, David Elliott, who had opposed Toplace developments, and the removal of the building commissioner, David Chandler, who had been scrutinising defects in Toplace apartments.
The commission has previously heard that Nassif claimed two individuals had asked him for $5m on Chandler’s behalf to lift prohibition orders on Toplace developments. Maheswaran subsequently passed on details of the alleged extortion attempt to Charles Perrottet.
Chandler is not named as a person of interest in Icac’s allegations and is not accused of any wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, the commission heard a phone call recorded by Nassif with one of the alleged individuals, contractor Navid Ardestani, who is not named in Icac’s allegations and is not accused of any wrongdoing.
“Navid mate,” Nassif began the call. “I didn’t know you were so fucking powerful, mate”, he continued, accusing Ardestani of sending a “report” to the building commissioner. Earlier on Wednesday, the commission heard that Nassif had become suspicious of Toplace contractors after a report about apartment defects had been passed on to Chandler.
In the call, Ardestani responded, “which report you talking about, sir?”, subsequently requesting a face-to- face meeting with Nassif.
“You can’t see me. You’re a fucking lying cunt. Bye,” Nassif ended the call.
Maheswaran was taken to messages between Ardestani and Nassif following a subsequent meeting between the two men, in which Ardestani wrote that “purpose of this meeting was to get my mate, the builder, to come and fix the issues that the building commissioner requested to be fixed”.
Maheswaran accepted counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer’s suggestion there was “nothing threatening about that”. She put it to him that this was “clearly a request for payment so that remediation works can take place on Jean Nassif’s building”.
He rejected this, saying it was inconsistent with an audio recording of the meeting, which the commission is expected to hear on Thursday.
The commission heard that Maheswaran had already met with Chandler about the alleged extortion attempt, with the building commissioner suggesting they go to the police. Chandler himself subsequently reported it to his departmental head, and was cleared by an internal audit.
Asked why he did not share details of the people allegedly involved in the extortion attempt with Chandler, Maheswaran said he did not think it was relevant.
“Mr Nassif was taking this very, very seriously, was contemplating paying $5 million to these people and from my perspective this was obviously not something that was real.”
“The best way to dispel that illusion in Mr Nassif’s mind [was] to raise it with the commissioner with whom we had a good relationship”.
Counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer, later said: “I’m suggesting to you, I want to put it straight, that you dishonestly conveyed to Mr Chandler that there had been a genuine extortion or shakedown attempt from an anonymous person,” he said.
“I absolutely deny that,” said Maheswaran.
A ‘grubby rumour’
On Wednesday morning, Maheswaran accepted he had given a private investigator, “Mr Nanetti”, Elliott’s address in 2020 to investigate a rumour that the MP was breaching Covid-19 restrictions to conduct an extramarital affair. Maheswaran accepted he now knew the rumour to be untrue.
In a statement and evidence to the commission, Elliott has strongly rejected the allegation of an extramarital affair or breach of Covid-19 restrictions. Multiple witnesses have accepted there was no evidence for the allegation.
He said Nanetti initially made “observations” at Elliott’s address as a favour, but he subsequently paid him $1,000 to return to Elliott’s address, where he took photographs.
Dwyer asked him if he had offered Greenwood $1,000 to place a story with a journalist.
Maheswaran said he had, but told the commission it was “not a serious offer”. Dwyer took him to the messages: “You say: ‘1000 bucks if you can get the yarn up’, and Greenwood says ‘Hahaha’, and you reply, ‘Not joking!’”.
The commission heard the men unsuccessfully tried to place the story with the Daily Telegraph, including providing photos of Elliott in a car with a woman who was not his wife and a draft statutory declaration by the private investigator. Elliott has said photographs show him signing documents for work purposes.
Dwyer, who described the story as a “grubby rumour” to which there was no truth, suggested that Maheswaran was “persistent” because he was pursuing a political outcome sought by Nassif.
Maheswaran rejected that, saying he had a “decade of track record pitching stories that are adverse to Liberal National MPs, ministers”. He said Nassif was the source of the rumour about Elliott, but had not requested the story be placed.
Maheswaran is expected to continue giving evidence to the commission on Thursday and Friday. He is the final scheduled witness across nine weeks of public hearings.
Icac’s inquiry continues.
