What Is the ICAC Investigation Into NSW Liberals and a Fugitive Developer All About?
A Liberal Party operative named Jeremy Greenwood faced New South Wales's corruption watchdog on 9 September 2026 and was asked whether he had planned to secretly record his own political colleagues. Greenwood said the idea was "just a silly comment."
The body questioning him is called ICAC, the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Think of it as a government watchdog with the power to investigate public officials and political figures for corrupt behaviour, and to hold public hearings where witnesses are questioned under oath.
The hearing is part of something called Operation Rosny. ICAC is investigating whether Greenwood and two other men, Charles Perrottet and Christian Ellis, together received $2 million between 2020 and 2023 from a developer named Jean Nassif or his company, Toplace. Nassif is currently a fugitive, meaning he is wanted by authorities and has fled. The allegation is that the money was paid in exchange for political favours, including getting rid of NSW's building commissioner, David Chandler, and damaging the reputation of a Liberal minister named David Elliott. Greenwood and Perrottet have denied taking illegal political donations. Ellis is overseas and is not expected to testify. Former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is not a person of interest and is not accused of any wrongdoing. (The Guardian, 9 September 2026)
The recording request came in a message Greenwood sent to a Toplace executive named Sharangan Maheswaran. Greenwood wrote: "Can I get Shane to wire me for sound tomorrow, and you guys pick up the bill?" Maheswaran replied: "I can give you the equipment, or Shane can." Greenwood told the commission that "Shane" was a private investigator working for Toplace. He called the message "silly" and "stupid" and said the meeting in question never happened. The lawyer questioning him, Peggy Dwyer SC, suggested the message showed Greenwood had already discussed recording someone for later use. Greenwood denied this. (The Guardian, 9 September 2026)
Maheswaran is himself a person of interest in a separate ICAC matter. He has denied wrongdoing and was expected to testify later that week.
The recording request is not the only message between the two men being examined. Maheswaran also wrote to Greenwood: "Let's get that material to FriendlyJordies, a one-hour documentary on [Elliott], and then follow it up by releasing the mistress photo." FriendlyJordies is the name of a popular YouTube channel in Australia that makes satirical and investigative political videos. Greenwood said the reference was probably about David Elliott, but he could not remember what material Maheswaran was talking about. He also said he could not recall any plan for the YouTube channel to make a negative documentary about Elliott. (The Guardian, 9 September 2026)
The material about Elliott fits a pattern the inquiry has already heard about. Greenwood and members of a conservative group within the Liberal Party called the Reformers created a document, described in evidence as a "shit sheet," designed to damage David Elliott's reputation. The document included a claim that Elliott was having an extramarital affair. Elliott has strongly denied this, and witnesses, including Greenwood, have accepted the claim was untrue. Greenwood called the document a "defensive move" because he said Elliott had been "actively attacking" him. He defended creating the document even though he admitted he knew the affair allegation was false. (The Guardian, 9 September 2026; The Saturday Paper, 12 August 2026; The Guardian, 11 August 2026)
The inquiry is also looking at efforts to undermine building commissioner David Chandler. In June 2021, Greenwood wrote to Maheswaran about a plan to "kill off" stories that were critical of problems in Toplace apartments, and to instead "get a story up about how the commissioner is a loose cannon fucking up." Greenwood admitted he passed along a video of Chandler to a journalist and to Charles Perrottet. In the video, Chandler said an "informal list" of unreliable certifiers (people who check that buildings meet safety standards) had been shared with banks. Greenwood denied that he, Ellis, and Perrottet had a coordinated plan to damage Chandler's reputation. When asked why he kept talking to a journalist about Chandler even after the commissioner resigned in July 2022, Greenwood said he was "just helping a friend" and not being paid. (The Guardian, 9 September 2026)
Operation Rosny is officially looking at whether electoral funding laws were broken between 2019 and 2023. These are laws that control how political parties can receive and spend money. In NSW, for example, property developers are banned from making political donations. Greenwood was the first witness called when public hearings began on 10 August 2026. He has spent three days answering questions and may be called back. The inquiry has also dealt with other matters: on 11 August 2026, the commission said it found no evidence that a company called Beckington had done work for Catholic Schools NSW during the period in question. On 4 September 2026, Greenwood tried to call Maheswaran and said "I followed up Charles. Waiting to hear back" about a Budget Estimates hearing (a session where parliament questions government ministers about spending). On 28 August, the commission looked at messages between Greenwood and another person from 15 December 2022, sent after a parliamentary inquiry had been announced. (ICAC Operation Rosny transcript, 27 July 2026; ICAC Operation Rosny transcript, 10 August 2026; ICAC Operation Rosny transcript, 11 August 2026; ICAC Operation Rosny transcript, 28 August 2026; ICAC Operation Rosny transcript, 4 September 2026; ABC News, 15 August 2026)
Greenwood has also been accused during the hearings of making up evidence known as "pink paper," and he has denied offering political favours to Jean Nassif. (SMH, 9 September 2026)
The bigger picture here is about trust in the political system. The inquiry is asking whether people working inside a major political party may have teamed up with a wealthy developer to secretly shape government decisions, including pushing out an official whose job was to protect the public from unsafe buildings. The tactics under scrutiny include feeding negative stories to journalists and YouTubers, spreading false claims about a politician's personal life, and possibly recording conversations without people knowing. Each time Greenwood says he cannot remember or denies something, the commission's case rests more heavily on the written evidence it has gathered: the text messages, the "pink paper," and the exchanges with Maheswaran. What happens next may depend on what Maheswaran says when he takes the witness box.
