A brother of former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet thanked fugitive property developer Jean Nassif for “all the support you’re providing to the family”, it has been revealed.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption has heard three explosive intercepted phone conversations between Jean-Claude Perrottet and Nassif, who fled Australia in late 2022.
In a June 2021 conversation, Nassif is recorded stating he “sent Castle Hill hundreds of new members” and asking Jean-Claude Perrottet to give $100,000 “to your brother”, or to two other men.
The revelations come as Jean Claude Perrottet has admitted he fled to Fiji in 2023 to avoid giving evidence to a NSW upper house inquiry into the matters now being investigated by the ICAC.
Jean-Claude Perrottet was a key member of the “NSW Reformers”, a hard-right faction of the NSW Liberal Party that allegedly used illegal political “donations” to fund branch stacking operations, to have “Christian” voices elected to parliament.
The ICAC is investigating allegations the payments, including from Nassif, were used to get politicians elected, including in Sydney’s Hills district, who would act in the interests of developers.
In the intercepted June 2021 conversation, Nassif tells Jean-Claude Perrottet:
“I was thinking of giving it to your brother for pre-selection, I will give you a million…Can you give $100,000 to your brother, to Jeremy (or) to Chris?”
Under questioning, Jean-Claude Perrottet said he understood “Chris” to be fellow NSW Reformer Christian Ellis, while “Jeremy” was understood to be fellow Reformer Jeremy Greenwood.
He said he had “no idea” what Nassif meant by giving $100,000 to his “brother”.
‘Which brother? I don’t know what he’s talking about to be honest with you,” Jean-Claude Perrottet told the inquiry.
“It makes no sense”.
As well as working for the secretive NSW Reformers, Jean-Claude Perrottet worked as a junior stockbroker for Medallion Finance.
He introduced Nassif to the firm, and Nassif became one of its clients.
The three intercepted calls played to the ICAC were calls from Jean-Claude Perrottet, at Medallion, to Nassif, ostensibly about Nassif’s stock investments.
In each of the conversations, political matters were also discussed.
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Jean-Claude Perrottet fronts the ICAC this afternoon. Source: ICAC
In the second taped conversation, on September 1 2021, Nassif expressed his anger at building regulators, before the conversation turned to political branches.
“If you could help in that area it would be awesome,” Jean-Claude Perrottet says.
“I mean in Baulkham Hills…we won that three years ago and they robbed us of it”.
Jean-Claude Perrottet continues: “I appreciate all the support you’re providing to the family as well, it’s making a difference, all the work you’re doing”.
When asked by the inquiry what he had meant by “support”, Jean-Claude Perrottet responded, “it’s nonsense clearly”.
Of statements by Nassif, he said “I think he’s just rambling”.
NSW upper house MP Damian Tudehope appeared before the ICAC Tuesday. Source: The Klaxon
In the third intercepted call, on October 12, 2021, Nassif says he has been “promised” that the NSW building commissioner “will be f@cking stopped or removed”.
Nassif also repeatedly mentions Charles Perrottet, who is Jean-Claude and Dominic’s brother.
He asks Jean-Claude Perrottet to “reach out to Charles and tell him”.
Jean-Claude Perrottet responds: “I’ll definitely tell him the situation”.
Jean-Claude Perrottet told the ICAC today his recorded comments were “just crazy talk”. He said he had never heard of his brother Charles doing anything for Nassif.
Dominic Perrottet was NSW Treasurer from 2017 until he became NSW Premier on October 5 2021, replacing Gladys Berejiklian. Berejiklian resigned after being named in an earlier ICAC probe, and was later found to be “seriously corrupt”.
Dominic Perrottet has not been named by the ICAC.
Jean-Claude Perrottet said he had gone to Fiji in 2023 to avoid giving evidence to the NSW upper house inquiry.
“Yes. I went to Fiji because I was not in a good place and I didn’t want to partake in what I believed was a sham inquiry,” he told the ICAC this afternoon.
He confirmed he had been given a leaked copy of that inquiry’s confidential draft report, by fellow NSW Reformer Jeremy Greenwood.
NSW upper house MP Damian Tudehope this week told the ICAC that he had improperly given a copy of the report to Greenwood.
The hearings continue.
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Thank you,
Anthony Klan
Editor, The Klaxon
