In a Sydney hearing room, a political operative named Jeremy Greenwood sat before the Independent Commission Against Corruption and offered explanations that counsel assisting found difficult to reconcile with the written record. The inquiry turns on a familiar and ancient question: whether private ambition and public trust were quietly exchanged for money, and whether the paper trail left behind tells a truer story than the man now asked to account for it. At stake is not only the fate of individuals but the integrity of the machinery through which citizens expect their built environment and
Liberal operative denies wire request was serious as ICAC probes $2m developer payments
The threads of your story pull apart very quickly.
Mark
So Greenwood is saying the wire request was just a joke, but the counsel seems to think there's a pattern here. What's actually being alleged?
Mimi
The core allegation is that Greenwood, Perrottet, and Ellis received roughly $2 million from developer Jean Nassif between 2020 and 2023 in exchange for political favors—removing the building commissioner, damaging a minister's reputation. The wire message is one piece of a larger picture of coordination.
Luke
But we should be clear: Greenwood denies the payments were illegal donations. He's saying they were legitimate lobbying fees. The question is whether there was an undisclosed quid pro quo, and whether the political outcomes actually happened because of the payments.
Mark
What about the "mistress photo" and the FriendlyJordies documentary? That sounds like a coordinated smear campaign.
Mimi
Greenwood admits the "shit sheet" existed—a document created by him and the Reformers to discredit Elliott. But he says the allegation of an affair is untrue, and he's acknowledged that witnesses, including himself, have accepted it's false. So he's admitting to creating damaging material based on something he knows isn't true.
Luke
The message from Maheswaran about getting material to FriendlyJordies is attributed to Maheswaran, not directly quoted. And Greenwood says he can't recall what material Maheswaran was referring to. So we have a message that looks incriminating, but Greenwood's memory is conveniently blank.
Mark
What about the building commissioner? Greenwood passed around a video of him, right?
Mimi
Yes, he passed it to a journalist, Charles Perrottet, and others. The video had Chandler claiming he had an informal list of dodgy certifiers. But Greenwood denies there was a joint strategy between him, Ellis, and Perrottet to discredit Chandler. He says he was just helping a friend.
Luke
And yet he wrote messages about needing to "kill off" stories critical of Toplace and "get a story up" about the commissioner being a loose cannon. Those are his own words. The question is whether that's a joint strategy or just Greenwood acting on his own.
Mark
The Porsche message is pretty damning, though. "The Porsche comes in January"—that sounds like he's expecting payment.
Mimi
It does. He's complaining about lack of payment, Ellis tells him $400,000 has been paid, and Greenwood responds that he's worried because the Porsche is coming in January. It suggests the payments were tied to personal purchases, not legitimate business expenses.
Luke
But we need to be careful here. Greenwood could argue that he was simply frustrated about cash flow for his lobbying company, and the Porsche comment was personal frustration, not evidence of a corrupt bargain. The inquiry will have to establish the connection between the payments and the political outcomes.
Mark
And this pink piece of paper—the one with the agreement on it?
Mimi
Greenwood says it's the only written record of the April 2020 agreement. It was supposedly stored in the back of a Toplace general manager's phone case, folded in half, and was fuchsia or purple-pink. Dwyer suggested he invented it because he didn't mention it in his preliminary Icac interview.
Luke
That's a significant credibility issue. If the agreement existed, why wouldn't he mention it initially? But we should also note that Greenwood denies making it up. Without the actual document, it's hard to verify either way. The absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence, but it does raise questions about his account.
Le Pouls
- An anti-corruption commission is examining whether a Liberal operative and two associates secretly received $2 million from a fugitive developer in exchange for political outcomes, including the removal of a building watchdog.
- Text messages referencing recording equipment, a private investigator, and plans to release damaging material about a sitting minister have placed Greenwood's credibility under severe strain.
- Greenwood's defences — that a request to be wired for sound was a joke, that a key written agreement existed only on a folded pink note in a phone case, and that he was merely 'helping a friend' — have been characterised by counsel as recent inventions that contradict his own prior statements.
- A payment message referencing a Porsche arriving in January and complaints that a developer was being 'disrespectful' about money have sharpened the commission's picture of an alleged transactional relationship.
- The inquiry is moving toward further testimony from the Toplace executive Greenwood called his close friend and solicitor — a dual role counsel described as an obvious conflict requiring no legal expertise to recognise.
- With the developer himself scheduled to appear via video link from Lebanon — having previously withdrawn on medical grounds — the commission's central questions remain unresolved and the proceedings continue.
In a Sydney hearing room, a political operative named Jeremy Greenwood sat before the Independent Commission Against Corruption and offered explanations that counsel assisting found difficult to reconcile with the written record. The inquiry turns on a familiar and ancient question: whether private ambition and public trust were quietly exchanged for money, and whether the paper trail left behind tells a truer story than the man now asked to account for it. At stake is not only the fate of individuals but the integrity of the machinery through which citizens expect their built environment and their government to be protected.
Jeremy Greenwood appeared before the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Wednesday, offering explanations for a series of messages that counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer found difficult to square with the written record. The inquiry is examining whether Greenwood, Charles Perrottet, and Christian Ellis received approximately $2 million from fugitive developer Jean Nassif or his company Toplace between 2020 and 2023, in exchange for political favours including the removal of building commissioner David Chandler and damage to the career of former minister David Elliott.
One message, sent to Toplace executive Sharangan Maheswaran, asked whether Greenwood could be wired for sound before a meeting, with Toplace covering the cost. Maheswaran replied that a private investigator employed by the company could arrange it. Greenwood dismissed the exchange as a silly comment and insisted the meeting never occurred. Dwyer suggested the reply did not read like a response to a joke, and that the two men appeared to have previously discussed recording a conversation for later use. Greenwood denied it.
A second message from Maheswaran proposed sending damaging material about Elliott to a YouTube channel and releasing a photograph of an alleged mistress. Greenwood accepted the message likely referred to Elliott but said he could not recall what material was meant. The inquiry had already heard that Greenwood and members of a conservative factional group had compiled what they called a 'shit sheet' on Elliott, including an extramarital allegation that witnesses, including Greenwood himself, have acknowledged is untrue.
On the question of the building commissioner, Greenwood admitted passing on a video of Chandler to a journalist and others, but denied that he, Ellis, and Perrottet had a coordinated strategy to discredit him. When asked why he continued briefing a journalist about Chandler even after Chandler's resignation, Greenwood said he was simply helping a friend.
Earlier in the week, Greenwood had described a 2020 agreement under which his lobbying company would receive $1 million per Toplace project if developments could be fast-tracked. On Wednesday, a message surfaced in which Greenwood, after learning a $400,000 invoice had been paid, wrote that a Porsche was arriving in January and that Nassif's delays were 'disrespectful.' He later described Nassif as a 'fuckwit' in subsequent exchanges.
Greenwood claimed the only written record of the original agreement was a folded, fuchsia-coloured note once kept in a phone case. Dwyer suggested he had invented it, noting he had not mentioned it in a preliminary interview. Greenwood denied this absolutely.
The commission also heard that Maheswaran — described by Greenwood as a very close friend — had acted as his solicitor and been paid $30,000, even while Toplace was contesting the large payments to Greenwood's company. Dwyer observed that the conflict was obvious to any person, lawyer or not. Maheswaran is expected to appear before the commission later this week, and Nassif is scheduled to give evidence via video link from Lebanon, having previously withdrawn after submitting a medical certificate.
Jeremy Greenwood sat across from counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer at the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Wednesday and offered an explanation for a message he had sent months earlier: he wanted to be fitted with recording equipment before a meeting with fellow Liberals, but it was just a silly comment, he said. He didn't remember the meeting happening at all.
The inquiry is examining whether Greenwood, Charles Perrottet, and Christian Ellis received roughly $2 million in payments between 2020 and 2023 from fugitive developer Jean Nassif or his company Toplace. The alleged quid pro quo included political outcomes—specifically, the removal of building commissioner David Chandler and damage to the career of former NSW Liberal minister David Elliott. Greenwood and Perrottet have denied taking illegal political donations. Ellis is overseas and has not appeared. Dominic Perrottet, the former premier and Charles Perrottet's brother, is not under investigation.
The message in question had been sent to Sharangan Maheswaran, a Toplace executive. Greenwood wrote: "Can I get Shane to wire me for sound tomorrow, and you guys pick up the bill?" Maheswaran replied that he could provide the equipment or arrange for Shane, a private investigator employed by Toplace, to do so. When pressed by Dwyer, Greenwood called it a "silly" or "stupid comment" and insisted the meeting never took place. Dwyer suggested the exchange didn't read like a joke and that it appeared Greenwood and Maheswaran had previously discussed recording a conversation for later use. Greenwood denied this, repeating that the meeting hadn't happened and there was no intention for anything of the sort.
Another message surfaced in which Maheswaran wrote to Greenwood: "Let's get that material to FriendlyJordies, a one-hour documentary on [Elliott], and then follow it up by releasing the mistress photo." Greenwood accepted the message likely referred to Elliott but said he couldn't recall what material Maheswaran meant. The inquiry had previously heard that Greenwood and members of the conservative factional group known as the Reformers had created what they called a "shit sheet" to discredit Elliott, including an allegation of an extramarital affair. Elliott has strenuously denied this, and witnesses including Greenwood have acknowledged the allegation is untrue.
Greenwood was also questioned about efforts to damage the building commissioner. In June 2021, he had written to Maheswaran about a plan to "kill off" stories critical of defects in Toplace apartments and to "get a story up about how the commissioner is a loose cannon fucking up." Greenwood admitted to passing on a video of Chandler to a journalist, Charles Perrottet, and others, in which Chandler claimed to have an "informal list" of dodgy certifiers he had provided to banks. But Greenwood denied that he, Ellis, and Perrottet had a joint strategy to discredit the building commissioner. When asked why he continued to brief a journalist about Chandler after Chandler's resignation in July 2022, Greenwood said he was "just helping a friend" rather than being paid to do so. After Greenwood said he had grown "sick of hearing about" the building commissioner from Nassif, Dwyer asked whether he had ever suggested to Nassif or Maheswaran that one way to get the commissioner off his back would be to ensure his buildings were actually up to standard. Greenwood said he may have told Maheswaran this.
On Monday, Greenwood had testified about an agreement made in April 2020 with Nassif under which his lobbying company Beckington, which he controlled with Ellis, would receive $1 million for each of up to five Toplace projects if they could be fast-tracked. Following the agreement, the men allegedly discussed whether to buy a Porsche or Ferrari. On Wednesday, the inquiry heard that after Greenwood complained about lack of payment from Toplace, Ellis messaged him in December 2020 that an invoice of $400,000 had been paid. "Good because the Porsche comes in January and I'm getting worried, but it's also just really disrespectful from him [Nassif]," Greenwood responded. In subsequent messages, he described Nassif as a "fuckwit" and told Maheswaran that Nassif was "fucking the relationship."
Greenwood claimed the only written record of the April 2020 agreement was a note once stored in the back of the Toplace general manager's phone case. He said it contained the names of two projects, was folded in half, and was "fuchsia" or "purple-pink" in colour. Dwyer suggested he had invented the piece of paper, noting that he had not mentioned it in a preliminary interview with Icac. "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?" she asked. "No, that's absolutely incorrect," Greenwood replied.
On Wednesday, Greenwood also told the inquiry that Maheswaran, whom he described as a "very close friend," had acted as his solicitor, and he had once paid Maheswaran $30,000. This arrangement existed while Toplace was challenging the large payments to Beckington. Greenwood said Maheswaran had not advised him "specifically" about a potential conflict of interest. Dwyer put it to him that "the threads of your story pull apart very quickly." When Greenwood said he was "not across legal conflicts," Dwyer responded: "It's an obvious one for a lawyer or a non-lawyer, 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?" Maheswaran is expected to appear before the commission later this week. Nassif is scheduled to appear via video link from Lebanon, though he withdrew from a previous appearance after providing a medical certificate. The inquiry continues.
Citations marquantes
Good because the Porsche comes in January and I'm getting worried, but it's also just really disrespectful from him— Jeremy Greenwood, in response to notification of a $400,000 payment from Toplace in December 2020
It's an obvious one for a lawyer or a non-lawyer, 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— Peggy Dwyer, counsel assisting, on the conflict of interest in Greenwood's arrangement with Maheswaran
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