Key facts
- A private investigator, Shane de Kauwe, testified he surveilled a Liberal minister and supplied recording devices to fugitive property developer Jean Nassif.
- De Kauwe said he was instructed by Toplace executive Sharangan Maheswaran to surveil former NSW Liberal MP David Elliott.
- De Kauwe admitted to installing a camera on a building without authority, invoicing Toplace $15,000.
- De Kauwe provided covert recording devices to Maheswaran, Nassif, and Jeremy Greenwood.
- Nassif allegedly sought recording devices to capture a conversation with men seeking $5 million on behalf of David Chandler.
- Icac is investigating allegations of $2 million in illegal donations from Nassif to Liberal figures for political outcomes.
A private investigator told Australia's anti-corruption watchdog that he surveilled a Liberal minister and provided secret recording devices to a fugitive property developer. Shane de Kauwe testified before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Tuesday, detailing his work for Toplace, a company linked to developer Jean Nassif.
De Kauwe stated he was instructed by Toplace lawyer and executive Sharangan Maheswaran to surveil former NSW Liberal MP David Elliott, who had opposed Toplace developments. De Kauwe said he installed a static camera on a building opposite a car park to record Elliott's vehicle, invoicing Toplace $15,000 for the effort. He admitted he had no authority to install the camera.
He also detailed continued requests from Nassif to surveil Elliott, former building commissioner David Chandler, and radio host Ray Hadley, even after Nassif fled Australia for Lebanon in 2022. De Kauwe said he provided covert recording devices, including voice recorder pens and a small square device, to Maheswaran, Nassif, and Jeremy Greenwood.
According to de Kauwe, Nassif requested a second recording device because he couldn't operate the first, as Nassif wanted to record a conversation with two men who were allegedly asking for $5 million on Chandler's behalf to provide occupancy certificates for Toplace's developments. De Kauwe believed these men were attempting to defraud Nassif and reported the allegations to NSW police, though they remain unsubstantiated and Chandler is not accused of wrongdoing.
De Kauwe also accepted invoicing Maheswaran $13,400 to surveil Chandler over six days in 2021. Icac is investigating allegations that Liberal figures Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood, and Charles Perrottet took $2 million in illegal donations from Nassif or his company Toplace in exchange for political outcomes. Greenwood and Charles Perrottet have denied payments were for political outcomes.