State puts freeze on secret Obeid properties
The NSW Crime Commission has warned about key development sites in Sydney secretly owned by disgraced politician Eddie Obeid’s family foundation and has frozen all property rights of Obeid Corporation Pty Ltd.
A decade-long criminal investigation into hidden Obeid assets worth tens of millions of dollars culminated in a closed-door hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday; The commission received an order to block the sale of sites in Bankstown unless the order was lifted.
A. reporter An investigation in January revealed that an Obeid family trust fund had concealed a secret stake worth nearly $30 million in land earmarked by the government for high-rise development next to Sydney’s new subway station.
Email chains and confidential documents obtained by reporter It showed that the Obeid family’s foundation’s status as the ultimate beneficiaries of the site was deliberately hidden behind the ownership of Obeid associate and business partner Walhan Wehbe. Wehbe is not accused of involvement in Obeid’s crimes.
“This has been a long slog against a deliberately complex network of trusts and companies that allowed the Obeid family to conceal the proceeds of crime,” said NSW Crime Commissioner Stephen Dametto.
“Although the previous two investigations did not result in the safe opening of the case, the commission did not give up at any stage.
“Ongoing investigations using coercive powers have continued, new evidence has been obtained and once we have been provided with what we need to take action through the method at hand, legislative changes have been made to remove the six-year limit on recovering the proceeds of crime.”
Authorities have repeatedly tried and failed to recover the $30 million Eddie Obeid was convicted of winning through a corrupt deal involving a coal exploration license at Bylong in Sydney’s northwest.
The Bankstown site, which is currently subject to a crime commission strike, is estimated to be worth up to $60 million. The Obeid family foundation is potentially entitled to half of this amount.
“While obtaining a restraining order is an extraordinary outcome, it is only the first step,” Dametto said.
“While the Commission expects several lengthy legal proceedings to continue, my message to the directors of Obeid Corporation is to do the right thing and return the proceeds of Eddie and Moses Obeid’s crimes to the people of NSW.
“Otherwise the commission will vigorously prosecute this matter to ensure that tens of millions of dollars obtained in one of the most brazen acts of corruption NSW has ever seen remain beyond the reach of Mr Obeid and his family.”
The Bankstown site, currently home to the dilapidated Bellevue events center and some rental shops, has been planned by the NSW Planning Department for a 20-storey residential tower under the state’s transport-led development strategy.
The Obeid family foundation moved to conceal its interest in the site in May 2018, when the family faced intense scrutiny over its property network and business activities.
Financial documents show the trust fund transferred its 50 per cent stake in a company then called Redpoc Pty Ltd. The owner of the site is WehbeWho owns a number of other properties around Bankstown.
The catch was that, according to legal advice given to representatives of the Obeids and Wehbe, Wehbe held the shares on specifically agreed terms and stated that any proceeds would be transferred to the Obeid family foundation.
Documents received by reporter Outline the complex but legal accounting strategy employed by Obeid family accountant Sid Sassine and tax lawyer Rolf Koops.
This meant the Obeids were no longer linked to the company that owned the land, according to public records kept by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Family accountant Sassine “worked miracles with our accounts where his predecessors had failed”, according to a statement from members of the Obeid family on Sassine’s website that was deleted five years before the Redpoc transfer.
Accountant In 2013 he gave evidence at the Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing into a coal deal based on corruptionHe denied being the “pioneer” of the family, but admitted that he worked to keep Obeid’s name out of the spotlight.
“My job here is to hide, yes, hide, the name Obeid from the public in order to avoid the obstacles they constantly encounter,” Sassine told the inquiry. he said. They are not accused of misconduct by the commission.
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Ben Cubby is an investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
