Jeremy Greenwood has denied fabricating a pink or fuchsia-coloured note that he claims recorded an agreement with fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, worth up to $5 million, during his testimony at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Wednesday.
Greenwood, a Liberal Party operative, told the commission that the note was not a “recent invention,” despite having failed to mention it during a preliminary interview with the watchdog. The inquiry is examining allegations that Greenwood, Charles Perrottet, and Christian Ellis shared in $2 million in payments from Nassif between 2020 and 2023 in exchange for political outcomes.
Alleged $5m agreement with Nassif
On Monday, Greenwood described an agreement with Nassif under which lobbying company Beckington, controlled by Greenwood and Ellis, would receive $1 million for each of up to five Toplace projects if they were fast-tracked. He claimed the only written record was a note stored in the back of a Toplace general manager’s phone case, folded in half and coloured “fuchsia” or “purple-pink,” containing the names of two projects.
Counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer SC, suggested Greenwood had invented the note to explain the arrangement. “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?” Dwyer asked. Greenwood responded, “No, that’s absolutely incorrect.”
Solicitor relationship under scrutiny
Greenwood also testified about his relationship with Toplace executive Sharangan Maheswaran, whom he described as a “very close friend” and who acted as his personal solicitor. Greenwood said they had a verbal agreement for costs, with no written record, and he once paid Maheswaran $30,000. “If I worked him hard, I’d give him some money,” Greenwood said.
This arrangement existed while Toplace was trying to challenge large payments to Beckington. Greenwood admitted Maheswaran had not advised him “specifically” about a potential conflict of interest. Dwyer countered, “The threads of your story pull apart very quickly,” to which Greenwood replied, “Really?”
Dwyer noted the conflict was obvious: “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?” Greenwood conceded, “It’s not rocket science, no. But to be clear, he was very transparent with me about what he was doing and how it was negatively impacting me and not helping me in that situation.”
Other figures in the inquiry
Charles Perrottet, brother of former premier Dominic Perrottet, and Greenwood have denied taking illegal political donations. Ellis is overseas and not expected to give evidence. Dominic Perrottet is not a person of interest and faces no allegations.
Maheswaran, named in a separate Icac allegation, is expected to appear later this week. Nassif is scheduled to testify via video link from Lebanon, having withdrawn last week with a medical certificate. The inquiry continues.
