The New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) has heard that Sydney real estate agent Mohammad Abedin used ChatGPT to help write a statement provided to the watchdog, but he denied that it was authored by former Strathfield Labor councillor Sharangan Maheswaran, who is under investigation for allegedly blackmailing a colleague.
Abedin, giving evidence on Thursday, could not explain why a document titled “Mohammad Abedin statement.docx” was sent by Maheswaran to the lawyer who witnessed Abedin’s statement, but insisted it did not prove Maheswaran had written it. He also conceded he had no evidence to support an allegation of “a dodgy deal out the back” mentioned in the statement about former Strathfield mayor Matthew Blackmore, who is not accused by Icac of any wrongdoing.
Icac investigates blackmail and surveillance allegations
Icac is investigating whether Maheswaran and fellow Strathfield councillor Karen Pensabene engaged in conduct towards Blackmore “that involves the dishonest or partial exercise of their official functions and/or a breach of public trust, including conduct which could involve blackmail” and possible breaches of the Surveillance Devices Act. Maheswaran, who is expected to appear before the commission on Friday, has denied any wrongdoing. The former councillor was also a lawyer to fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and his company Toplace.
Nassif, who is under investigation for allegedly making $2m in prohibited political donations to Liberal party figures, insisted he was “not corrupt” in an explosive appearance at the inquiry earlier this week.
Abedin’s evidence on the statement
On Thursday, the commission heard that Abedin, who came to Australia in 2004, had employed Blackmore at his real estate agency, but fell out with him after Blackmore left the business in 2023, taking clients. Abedin said he subsequently became personally close to Maheswaran, who Blackmore had previously introduced to him, and accepted counsel assisting Juliet Curtin’s suggestion that they discussed their “mutual dislike” of Blackmore. “Yes, of course. I hated him [Blackmore]. He took the business away,” he said.
On Monday, Blackmore alleged he had been threatened, followed, and his children secretly recorded after he refused to honour an agreement with Maheswaran and Pensabene to step down as mayor. Abedin was asked about the statement he provided to Icac containing allegations against Blackmore, and said he voluntarily provided it, not at Maheswaran’s request.
The allegations included a “a dodgy deal out the back” from Blackmore’s work on council. After Abedin said the allegation was “just my perception” and accepted he could not recall any evidence to support it, presiding commissioner Fabian Gleeson asked: “So what is your evidence?” “Your honour, I have no evidence,” said Abedin.
ChatGPT and the document trail
After initially saying he could not recall if Maheswaran had helped draft the statement, Abedin said: “I don’t remember how I did it, ChatGPT or myself.” Curtin asked: “So you told ChatGPT what it was that you had to say about Mr Blackmore, and ChatGPT prepared a statement?” Abedin denied this, but said: “I put things with my word[s] and … the context of the letters. They make it in order, as you can see, bullet point and numbering, and devices help to make it more correctly wording [sic].”
Curtin took Abedin to a message sent by Maheswaran to the lawyer who witnessed the statement in August 2023, before Abedin signed it, sharing an attachment titled “Mohammad Abedin statement.docx”. “That’s your statement that you say Mr Maheswaran never saw before you signed it,” said Curtin. Abedin denied this. On Thursday afternoon, he was shown the signed and unsigned statements, which Curtin said were “one and the same”. Under repeated questioning, Abedin accepted that the documents were the same, but insisted that he, and not Maheswaran, had written the statement.
Curtin, saying Abedin was “quite clearly lying to this commission”, said: “I want to give you one more chance. The case is this, is it not? Mr Maheswaran prepared that statement, not you.” Abedin rejected this, saying the statement was “prepared by me”. Later on Thursday, Abedin said he may have shared “my draft final copy” with Maheswaran. Icac’s inquiry continues.
