Shakedown claims designed to ‘blow up’ building commissioner, ICAC hears

Disgraced developer Jean Nassif confected a “trumped-up” extortion attempt against himself to damage the building commissioner before a prohibition order could be slapped on one of his defective buildings, a corruption inquiry has heard.

Nassif’s lawyer, Sharangan Maheswaran, told the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Wednesday he personally raised the alleged shakedown allegations against Nassif with then-building commissioner David Chandler, hoping to put his boss’s mind at ease.

Maheswaran said Nassif had claimed a third party was demanding $5 million, and suggested that in exchange, they could get Chandler to overturn a prohibition order on a Toplace development.

“Mr Nassif was taking this very, very seriously, was contemplating paying $5 million to these people,” Maheswaran told the commission when asked why he raised the allegation with Chandler.

Chandler previously gave evidence to the commission that when briefed on the alleged extortion attempt, he told Maheswaran if Toplace had any evidence of a shakedown, it should go to the police.

Nassif did not want to make a police complaint, the commission heard.

Counsel assisting Dr Peggy Dwyer, SC, said to Maheswaran: “I suggest to you it was a tactic that you had adopted to try and pressure an independent office holder who was appointed to clean up the building industry, that is, Mr Chandler.”

“I can’t even understand the logic of that suggestion, but I reject it,” Maheswaran said.

Nassif also accused contractor Navid Ardestani of leaking evidence of defects in his buildings to Chandler, the commission heard, but Ardestani rejected this, and referred to a LinkedIn post as being to blame.

“I didn’t dob you in,” he told Nassif.

The commission had earlier heard Ardestani was chasing payment for work done for Nassif and texted Toplace employee Charbel Barakat asking him to follow up the outstanding invoices.

“Jean is not responding again, and made me look bad in front of the other builder who was going to help with the remediation work in Castle Hill. Please advise,” Ardestani texted.

Nassif had initially accused Ardestani of “threatening us with the union, the commissioner”.

“Stay away from me because I’m forwarding this to my criminal attorney and putting you on notice that you’re going to be responsible for any harms or damages that happen to me and my family and my business,” a message from Nassif to Ardestani said.

Ardestani responded: “I really don’t understand your text, Jean. Get us paid, please, and we can finalise friendly. We don’t make threats, and we never did. And also, we don’t do anything illegal. Very confusing text. Get us paid, please.”

Maheswaran said Nassif’s texts were evidence of some threat being made against him, even if it did not appear in the messages.

Dwyer put to Maheswaran: “That’s what this trumped-up extortion attempt was about, wasn’t it? Blowing up the commissioner before he could issue a prohibition order.”

Earlier, the commission heard Maheswaran offered $1000 to a Liberal lobbyist to get a story into the media alleging then-police minister David Elliott breached COVID restrictions because he was having an affair.

Maheswaran told the ICAC he offered the payment to lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood if he could convince a reporter to write a damaging story about Elliott having an affair.

There is no suggestion the allegations are true, and Elliott has denied any wrongdoing.

The commission is investigating whether Nassif wanted to damage the political career of Elliott, who was a longtime enemy of the developer.

Maheswaran is a person of interest in the public inquiry codenamed Operation Rosny. He is accused of blackmailing former Strathfield mayor Matthew Blackmore and illegally recording his fellow councillor.

The corruption inquiry on Wednesday was told about a text exchange between Maheswaran and Greenwood after the Toplace lawyer sent a picture of a car, taken during surveillance of Elliott.

Maheswaran told the commission he asked an investigator, known as Mr Nanetti, to do some basic surveillance on Elliott, before personally paying Nanetti about $1000 to return to Elliott’s street to take photographs.

The lawyer then wanted to convince News Corp journalists to write a story claiming Elliott was breaching COVID rules because he was in the company of a woman who was not his wife.

Maheswaran told Greenwood: “A thousand bucks if you can get the yarn up”. Greenwood responded with “hahaha”. Maheswaran replied: “Not joking”.

Maheswaran told the inquiry it was not a serious offer.

He also provided a brief to private investigator Shane De Kauwe naming Elliott as the principal target, and listed information about Elliott’s sons, wife, and chief of staff, and a number of Hills Shire councillors.

“It must have occurred to you that Mr Nassif was developing some conspiracy theories about why his developments were being blocked, rather than just actually looking at the genuine problems that were there with his developments,” Dwyer said.

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