NSW Transport official joked about ‘hitman’ for colleague
The inquest previously heard that by 2023 Graham had become suspicious of how Helmy was involved with Protection Barriers and related company JC Safety, and believed he was contacting contractors behind his back. His role at Transport for NSW was to ensure contractors met their legal obligations and had the capacity to carry out work for the agency.
On Friday the inquest was shown emails and messages which revealed Helmy went to more senior colleagues at Transport for NSW when he rebuffed Graham’s attempts to bring Guard Barriers and JC Security onto the safety barriers panel.
Helmy, 38, admitted helping Protection Barriers founder Jason Chellew reapply to the panel, but said Graham “took it personally” and the way he conducted reviews of companies was “a bit extreme”. He repeatedly told the inquiry that Graham was “acting irrationally.”
The inquest heard he managed to get Guard Barriers and JC Security onto the panel and they ended up getting much more valuable work from other contractors.
It is alleged that he received $8.97 million in cryptocurrency payments from Chellew between 2021 and 2024, $227,000 in cash between 2020 and 2021, and $60,000 in gold bullion in 2023.
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ICAC is investigating allegations Helmy was the mastermind behind corrupt dealings with nine companies paid at least $343 million in contracts by Transport for NSW. He is accused of receiving $11.5 million in kickbacks from contractors in exchange for giving them work on state roads.
Helmy was also questioned on Friday about why he instructed his brother, who visited him in prison last week, to tell his friend and developer Adam Taki to read a transcript of his evidence for the public inquiry. The instructions were given before Taki appeared as a witness earlier this week.
Ranken asked Helmy if he wanted his brother to influence Taki’s evidence by having his friend read his own text.
Helmy maintained that it was “nothing specific” and that the transcript was public information.
The public inquiry into the kickbacks is part of the ICAC investigation known as Operation Wyvern. This is the fourth case of procurement fraud at Transport for NSW since 2019. The hearings were scheduled to end at the end of last month but were extended until November 21.
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