Icac Hears Former Liberal Operative Dismiss Pre-Meeting Wiretapping Request as a Joke

A factional figure has denied requesting a wiretap before a meeting with fellow Liberals and stated he does not recall a scheme to have YouTuber FriendlyJordies produce a negative documentary about a New South Wales minister, the inquiry heard.

Jeremy Greenwood informed the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Wednesday that his request to be “wired… for sound” ahead of a meeting with fellow Liberals was merely a “silly comment”.

The commission is investigating allegations that Greenwood, Charles Perrottet, and Christian Ellis shared $2 million in payments between 2020 and 2023 from fugitive developer Jean Nassif or his company, Toplace, in exchange for political favors.

These alleged outcomes included the removal of building commissioner David Chandler and the undermining of the career of former NSW Liberal minister David Elliott.

Greenwood and Charles Perrottet, the brother of former premier Dominic Perrottet, have denied accepting illegal political donations. Ellis is overseas and is not expected to testify during the hearings. Dominic Perrottet is not a person of interest in the inquiry and faces no accusations of wrongdoing.

On Wednesday, Greenwood was questioned about a message he sent to Toplace executive Sharangan Maheswaran prior to a meeting with Liberal figures. In the message, Greenwood wrote: “Can I get Shane to wire me for sound tomorrow, and you guys pick up the bill?”

Maheswaran responded: “I can provide the equipment, or Shane can.”

Acknowledging the message likely referred to a private investigator employed by Toplace, Greenwood characterized it as a “silly” or “stupid comment” and maintained that the meeting never actually took place.

Counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer SC, suggested the message did not appear to be a joke and argued to Greenwood that “it looks like you had previously discussed with Mr Maheswaran recording a conversation that you could use at a different time.”

Greenwood responded: “No, no, because again, the meeting never happened. There was no intention for anything like that.”

He was questioned about a message from Maheswaran which read: “Let’s get that material to FriendlyJordies, a one-hour documentary on [Elliott], and then follow it up by releasing the mistress photo”.

Greenwood acknowledged the message likely referred to Elliott but claimed he could not recall the specific material Maheswaran referenced. The inquiry was previously informed that Greenwood and members of the conservative factional group the Reformers created a “shit sheet” to discredit Elliott, which included an allegation of an extramarital affair—a claim Elliott has strenuously denied and witnesses, including Greenwood, have accepted as untrue.

Maheswaran, who is named as a person of interest in a separate Icac allegation and has previously denied any wrongdoing, is expected to appear before the commission later this week.

Greenwood was questioned about efforts to discredit Chandler, including a message he sent to Maheswaran in June 2021 outlining a plan to “kill off” stories critical of defects in Toplace apartments and to “get a story up about how the commissioner is a loose cannon fucking up”.

He admitted to passing on a video of Chandler, in which Chandler claimed to have an “informal list” of dodgy certifiers provided to banks, to a journalist and Charles Perrottet. However, he denied that he, Ellis, and Perrottet had a joint strategy to discredit the building commissioner.

When asked why he continued to brief a journalist about Chandler after his July 2022 resignation, Greenwood stated he was “just helping a friend” rather than being paid to discredit the commissioner.

After Greenwood stated he became “sick of hearing about” the building commissioner from Nassif, Dwyer asked if he had ever told Nassif or Maheswaran that “one way to get the building commissioner off your back is just actually make sure that your buildings are up to scratch”. Greenwood admitted he may have told Maheswaran this.

On Monday, Greenwood told the commission about an agreement reached in April 2020 with Nassif, under which lobbying company Beckington, controlled by Greenwood and Ellis, would be awarded $1 million for each of up to five Toplace projects if they were successfully fast-tracked.

Following the agreement, the men allegedly discussed purchasing a Porsche or a Ferrari. The inquiry heard on Wednesday that after Greenwood complained about a lack of payment from Toplace, Ellis messaged him in December 2020 to say an invoice of $400,000 had been settled.

“Good because the Porsche comes in January and I’m getting worried, but it’s also just really disrespectful from him [Nassif],” Greenwood responded.

In subsequent messages, he described Nassif as a “fuckwit” and stated he had told Maheswaran that Nassif was “fucking the relationship”.

Greenwood has stated that the only written record of the agreement was a note once stored in the back of the Toplace general manager’s phone case. He claimed it contained the names of two projects, was folded in half, and was “fuchsia” or “purple-pink” in color.

Dwyer suggested he had fabricated the piece of paper, an allegation Greenwood accepted, noting he had not mentioned it in a preliminary interview with Icac.

Dwyer asked: “That’s because it was a recent invention that you came up with on Monday or prior to Monday to explain that arrangement, isn’t it?”

“No, that’s absolutely incorrect,” Greenwood responded.

On Wednesday, Greenwood told the inquiry that Toplace executive Sharangan Maheswaran—whom he described as a “very close friend”—acted personally as his solicitor, acknowledging he once paid Maheswaran $30,000.

Greenwood stated this arrangement existed while Toplace was attempting to challenge large payments to Beckington.

He stated Maheswaran had not advised him “specifically” about a potential conflict of interest. Dwyer put it to him that “the threads of your story pull apart very quickly”.

“Really?” Greenwood responded.

After Greenwood said he was “not across legal conflicts,” Dwyer stated it was “an obvious one for a lawyer or a non-lawyer—you can’t have the same solicitor appearing for two clients when one’s trying to stop the other one getting an amount of money”.

“It’s not rocket science, is it?” she said.

Nassif is scheduled to appear via video link from Lebanon. He withdrew from an appearance last week after providing a medical certificate.

The inquiry continues.

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