ICAC Hears of $2M Payment Split, Fast-Track Development Scheme Linking Liberal Operatives to Fugitive Developer Nassif

The New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence on 7 September 2026 from lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood, a principal of Beckington Consulting, about his alleged share of $2 million in payments from fugitive developer Jean Nassif, owner of the collapsed building company Toplace. The payments, counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer told the inquiry, were split three ways between Greenwood, rightwing Liberal powerbroker Charles Perrottet, and fellow conservative Liberal Christian Ellis.

The hearing is part of ICAC's public inquiry codenamed Operation Rosny, formally titled "Allegations concerning possible offences under the Electoral Funding Act and other matters." The inquiry, whose public hearings opened on 27 July 2026, examines whether between approximately 2020 and 2023 political donations were made by or on behalf of Nassif and Toplace Pty Ltd, who were classified as prohibited donors under NSW electoral law. The investigation also names Robert Assaf and Jean-Claude Perrottet among those alleged to have solicited or accepted political donations, including from Nassif.

Charles Perrottet is the brother of former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet. Dominic Perrottet is not a person of interest in the inquiry and is not accused of any wrongdoing.

ICAC alleges the Nassif payments were directed toward securing political outcomes, including the removal of the Hills Shire council and attempts to remove the NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, who had placed prohibition orders on Nassif's developments due to defects. Earlier hearing transcripts published on 2 September 2026, covering evidence from 1 September, detailed cash flow problems at Toplace and Nassif's desire to get the Building Commissioner "off his back."

At the centre of the 7 September evidence is an April 2020 meeting attended by Nassif, Charles Perrottet, and Greenwood. Dwyer said this meeting was where large payments for securing approval of Nassif's developments through a NSW government fast-track development process were discussed. Around the same time, Greenwood and Ellis traded text messages and photographs of cars they aspired to own, including a Porsche 911 and a red Ferrari.

Greenwood agreed in evidence that the trio were offered $1 million per project if their projects were accepted into the fast-track process. The Toplace projects discussed included 189 Macquarie Street in Parramatta, Garthowen in Castle Hill, O'Riordan Street in Mascot, a Cherrybrook project, and possibly a project at either Clyde or Box Hill. Dwyer expressed surprise that Greenwood accepted the arrangement, which was potentially worth $5 million to Beckington Consulting if all projects were approved. Greenwood responded that this was simply how Nassif did business.

The payment agreement, Greenwood testified, was written on a scrap of pink paper kept in the glasses case of Nassif's associate Larissa Mouawad. Evidence from the 3 September hearing indicated the first payment of $148,500 from Nassif was made on 11 September. Transcripts from that day also showed Greenwood and Ellis arranging a meeting with Nassif to discuss business involving roughly $1 million.

Not all the projects followed the same planning pathway, and this became a point of contention. Disagreements arose over payment for the Garthowen project, which involved a change to the Hills Shire local environment plan and was a planning proposal approved in tranche three of the fast-track process rather than a development approval. The development application for 189 Macquarie Street, Parramatta, by contrast, was approved in tranche five, around August 2020.

ICAC's opening statement, delivered on 28 July 2026, said Nassif proposed an arrangement to make large payments, initially totalling $1,000,000, to stack Liberal Party branches. Evidence given on 31 August 2026 suggested Nassif may have believed he was providing funds for upcoming preselections, and that Greenwood and Ellis received the money.

Charles Perrottet and Jeremy Greenwood have denied taking illegal political donations. Christian Ellis is overseas and is not expected to give evidence during the hearings. Jean Nassif remains a fugitive, currently believed to be in Lebanon.

The broader context here is one of intersecting regulatory failures and political influence networks that Operation Rosny is now mapping in granular detail. The fast-track development process at the centre of the alleged scheme was a NSW government mechanism designed to accelerate planning approvals. ICAC is examining whether that mechanism was effectively leveraged by a prohibited donor, through payments to Liberal Party operatives, to secure outcomes that ranged from development approvals to the political neutralisation of a building regulator who had acted against him. The involvement of a former premier's sibling, the flight of the central figure, and the absence of one accused from the proceedings all compound the difficulty of arriving at a complete evidentiary picture.

What remains unresolved is whether ICAC's findings will prompt structural reform of the fast-track process itself, or of the electoral funding framework that classifies donors like Nassif as prohibited. The inquiry continues.