Key facts
- Labor councillor Sharangan Maheswaran feared an Icac inquiry over his attendance at a Liberal fundraiser.
- Maheswaran wrote "Oh shit, did he touch on me?" after a NSW MP's speech led to allegations being referred to Icac.
- Icac is investigating allegations of illegal donations from property developer Jean Nassif to Liberal factional operatives.
- Maheswaran was a lawyer for Nassif and an executive at his company, Toplace.
- Maheswaran attended a 2021 fundraiser with then-NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet.
- Maheswaran stated he paid for his and another attendee's tickets with a company card, claiming to represent the firefighters union.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) heard testimony on Monday regarding a Labor councillor's concerns about potential anti-corruption scrutiny following his attendance at a Liberal fundraiser. Sharangan Maheswaran, a former lawyer for property developer Jean Nassif and an executive at Nassif's company Toplace, expressed worry about his presence at the event, which was also attended by then-NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet.
According to the commission, Maheswaran wrote "Oh shit, did he touch on me?" and requested an invoice for a "Dom lunch" be fixed up after a speech by a NSW MP led to allegations being referred to Icac. Icac is investigating claims that Liberal factional operatives Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood, and Charles Perrottet, Dominic Perrottet's brother, received $2 million in illegal donations from Nassif in exchange for political outcomes. Dominic Perrottet is not named as a person of interest and is not accused of wrongdoing.
Maheswaran was shown a photograph of himself and Ellis at an April 2021 fundraiser for Hawkesbury Liberal MP Robyn Preston. He stated he paid $990 for his and Ellis's tickets using a company card, claiming he was there on behalf of the firefighters union to discuss concerns with the treasurer, rather than on behalf of Toplace. Messages presented to the commission suggested Maheswaran sounded "panicked" about his attendance at the fundraiser and inquired about access to Liberal fundraising records.
Maheswaran rejected suggestions that his attendance was at the request of Jean Nassif or that he had fabricated a story involving the firefighters union to cover his involvement. He insisted that payments from Toplace to the lobbying company Beckington, controlled by Ellis and Greenwood, were not for political outcomes. Ellis has moved overseas, while Greenwood and Charles Perrottet have denied that payments from Toplace were for political outcomes.