Texts reveal Sharangan Maheswaran had ‘an explanation ready’ but was worried about picture taken with premier prompted by ‘dumb’ Christian Ellis
A Labor councillor feared his presence at a Liberal fundraiser attended by Dominic Perrottet would result in him being forced to give evidence to the New South Wales anti-corruption commission, the watchdog has heard.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) heard on Monday that after an incendiary speech by an NSW MP, which led to allegations being referred to the watchdog, Sharangan Maheswaran wrote “Oh shit, did he touch on me?” and asked for “that invoice for the Dom lunch fixed up”.
Icac is examining whether Liberal factional operatives Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood and Charles Perrottet, the younger brother of Dominic Perrottet, received $2m in illegal donations from property developer Jean Nassif in exchange for political outcomes.
Dominic Perrottet is not named as a person of interest and is not accused of wrongdoing.
Former Strathfield councillor Maheswaran was a lawyer to Nassif and became an executive at Nassif’s company, Toplace, in September 2020.
In June 2022, the NSW Liberal MP Ray Williams used parliamentary privilege to allege senior members of the party had been “paid significant funds” to install new councillors on the Hills Shire council to support Toplace development applications.
After the speech, the then-premier Dominic Perrottet referred the allegations to Icac.
On Monday, Maheswaran was shown a photo of him and Ellis at an April 2021 fundraiser for Hawkesbury Liberal MP and former Hills Shire councillor Robyn Preston. They were pictured alongside others including Dominic Perrottet who at the time was NSW treasurer.
Preston is not named as a person of interest in Icac’s allegations and is not accused of any wrongdoing.
After Ellis contacted Maheswaran about Williams’ speech, the commission heard that the councillor wrote “Oh shit, did he touch on me?” and asked for his name on a payment form for the fundraiser, sent to Ellis’ mother, Liberal Hills Shire councillor Virginia Ellis, changed to that of his company Anwalt Pty Ltd.
The inquiry heard that Maheswaran wrote to fellow Labor Strathfield councillor Karen Pensabene about a potential referral of Toplace to Icac, saying: “I just don’t want to have to give evidence.”
He wrote that he was concerned about his attendance at the fundraiser: “I think it should be fine, but it looks bad.”
Pensabene wrote: “Would you stop going to Lib functions, please?”
“Haha,” replied Maheswaran. “I haven’t been to one for the year.”
Maheswaran told the commission he attended the event after Nassif, who had received an email invitation, that he couldn’t attend and donate being a property developer.
Maheswaran said he had paid for his and Ellis’s $990 tickets with an Anwalt company card, saying he was there on behalf of the firefighters union to raise concerns with the treasurer, rather than on Toplace’s behalf.
By the time of February 2023 public hearings in a parliamentary inquiry prompted by Williams speech, Maheswaran sounded “panicked” in messages sent to Greenwood, counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC suggested on Monday.
He wrote “concerned about my attendance at Robyn fundraiser” and asked who had access to Liberal fundraising records.
“I’ve got an explanation ready to issue from the FBEU [Fire Brigade Employees Union], but fucking CE [Christian Ellis] was very insistent on a picture with me, him, and Dom, like very fucking insistent,” Maheswaran said.
Greenwood wrote back: “Because he’s a dumb fuck.”
Maheswaran rejected Dwyer’s suggestion that he had fabricated a story about attending “because of something to do with the firefighters union … to cover the fact that you were going at the request of Jean Nassif”.
Maheswaran said he had correspondence with the union which set out “matters that they’d like to raise with the state treasurer”, saying he didn’t “go on my time machine and create those conversations”.
Maheswaran insisted on Monday that payments from Toplace to lobbying company Beckington, controlled by Ellis and Greenwood, were not for political outcomes, which Dwyer has alleged included the recruitment and renewal of members to the Liberal party. The practice, known as branch stacking, is not itself illegal.
Ellis has moved overseas and is not expected to give evidence, while Greenwood and Charles Perrottet have denied payments from Toplace were for political outcomes. Charles Perrottet said he would add a “political flavour” to advice in order to chase payments for genuine consulting work.