ICAC inquiry into NSW Liberal Party corruption and Reformers faction funding

Consensus Summary

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is investigating Operation Rosny, a probe into alleged corruption involving fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, Liberal Party operatives, and the right-wing Reformers faction. Central to the inquiry is evidence from phone taps revealing Nassif offered $100,000 in June 2021 to support the preselection of one of former premier Dominic Perrottet’s brothers, with Jean-Claude Perrottet denying knowledge of the offer. Both ABC and SMH confirm Perrottet received $25,000 in monthly $5,000 payments from a company linked to illegal donations, as well as $80,000 from prohibited donor Michael O’Hara in 2023. Nassif also allegedly offered a $2 million bribe to Reformers figures Jeremy Greenwood, Christian Ellis, and Charles Perrottet. The inquiry has exposed factional maneuvering, including claims of branch-stacking, improper donations disguised as consulting fees, and Reformers money funding events like a cancelled bucks party. Jean-Claude Perrottet, now unemployed at age 29, was let go from Catholic Schools NSW in May 2023 amid the ICAC investigation, after previously working at Medallion Financial from January 2020 to March 2023. The Reformers faction, founded in 2018, is accused of soliciting funds from prohibited donors and disguising political donations through sham invoices. The fallout has engulfed the Liberal Party as it prepares for the March 2023 election, with figures like Damien Tudehope already resigning from the frontbench.