A private investigator did not believe the then building commissioner was behind a $5 million extortion attempt on disgraced developer Jean Nassif but thought the claim needed to be reported to NSW Police.
Shane De Kauwe told a corruption inquiry on Tuesday he provided a recording device to Nassif’s lawyer Sharangan Maheswaran which was used by the developer to record a conversation with two men who allegedly alluded to an extortion attempt by building commissioner David Chandler.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption heard that De Kauwe told Nassif and Maheswaran the allegations needed to be reported to police, but Nassif did not want to make a complaint.
The private investigator instead called a friend in the police force and made his own complaint.
“I didn’t believe it was the commissioner, I believe that these guys were using Jean, you know, Jean being Jean, trying to get money out of Jean,” De Kauwe said.
Chandler is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Counsel assisting Juliet Curtin also asked De Kauwe about investigating David Elliott, the Liberal MP who was police minister in the then Coalition government.
Curtin asked: “What did you understand his [Maheswaran’s] connection or interest to be in Mr Elliott at that point in time?”
“He didn’t like him,” De Kauwe said. He told the commission he believed he was doing surveillance on Elliott for Maheswaran personally.
That investigation included looking into Elliott’s social media posts and a few days of surveillance.
De Kauwe said he knew Maheswaran worked at Toplace, and at some point his work became significant enough that he began to think of Maheswaran as Nassif’s right-hand man.
De Kauwe earlier told the commission he provided covert listening devices – including a secret recording pen – to Maheswaran as well as Liberal apparatchik Jeremy Greenwood, who had a government relations contract with Toplace.
The investigator said he had a few different listening devices, including devices that look like a pen or a “small square” that resembles a type of tag you would keep on a keychain.
He told the commission calling them “covert” devices was generous; they were gadgets available to buy on Amazon.
The private investigator was asked what information he would give clients about the legality of making covert recordings.
“If you’re a party to a conversation and you think that person may make an allegation about you, you can covertly record them, however, it may or may not be admissible,” De Kauwe said.
The commission heard De Kauwe is friends with Hornsby councillor Verity Greenwood, who introduced him to her son Jeremy around 2019.
De Kauwe said while he was paid by Toplace, he would sometimes receive instructions from Greenwood.
Greenwood also introduced De Kauwe to former Labor councillor and Toplace lawyer Sharangan Maheswaran as somebody who potentially needed an investigator.
De Kauwe described Maheswaran as one of his best friends, whom he speaks with regularly.
He told the commission when he was working for Maheswaran, Maheswaran sought out legal advice on De Kauwe’s behalf.
Counsel assisting Juliet Curtin asked De Kauwe if he ever perceived a potential conflict there.
“I trust him implicitly, I wouldn’t consider it a conflict,” De Kauwe said.
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Alexandra Smith is a senior writer and former state political editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Jessica McSweeney is a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald covering state politics and urban affairs.Connect via email.From our partners
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