ICAC turns up heat on Moses Obeid

ICAC turns up heat on Moses Obeid

By Peter Lloyd, ABCUpdated February 2, 2013, 2:02 am

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Giving false and misleading evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption in New South Wales carries a penalty of up to five years in jail.

It is a penalty that now hangs over Moses Obeid, the son of former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid, after two days of evidence where he has been repeatedly labelled a liar.

It is now established that information from former NSW minerals minister Ian Macdonald about mining leases did kick off a series of land deals and transactions that have enriched the family of his political mate Eddie Obeid.

Yesterday, Moses Obeid was back in the stand and unable to explain just how confidential maps from Mr Macdonald’s office found their way to the family’s possession when they were raided by ICAC.

It is an offence for a minister of the Crown to give this sort of document out, but .

“It might have been drawn by Jesus Christ,” he told the hearing.

Mr Obeid and the family were all set to make $60 million from their stake in mining company Cascade Coal.

The first $30 million was paid before the state election in 2011 that wiped out Labor and saw the Coalition come to power.

The result panicked Cascade Coal; it was about to renege on paying the Obeids the second tranche payment of $30 million.

Moses Obeid and his family were not happy.

We now know this because of a telephone call between Mr Obeid and Greg Jones, a businessman and friend of Mr Macdonald.

Jones: “How are you my son?”

Obeid: “I thought you might have been ****ing dumplings or something by now.”

Jones: “No I wish. I just can’t because I haven’t done something I need to finish off. Um, are you blokes over at the office tomorrow morning?”

Obeid: “Ah, tomorrow morning we are, yeah.”

All of that was a surprise to ICAC because just before playing the tape, Mr Obeid had been insisting he had nothing to do with the family’s business affairs because he had been out of the picture at the time, caring for a sick child.

It was a lie, said counsel-assisting Geoffrey Watson SC.

The tape confirms that Mr Obeid was working very hard to get his hands on the second $30 million payment:

Obeid: “Mate, if he thinks he’s going to come in and **** tell us, after five minutes to midnight, that sorry and **** it’s all off, mate he’s got another ****ing thing coming.”

Jones: “He never said that!”

As the tape was playing, Mr Obeid held his head in his hands.

His embarrassment continued with a third part of the recording where he was speaking to Mr Jones about the whereabouts of his brothers and father.

Obeid: “Paul is out at Australian Water tomorrow, Gerard’s at Port Macquarie, and as you know, the old fella is um, (inaudible). They started today, but he’s handed his resignation in today so he’s going to have to be there tomorrow.”

The old fella he refers to is his father Eddie. It was the day he quit politics to spend more time with his family.

The reference to his brother Paul being at Australian Water was perhaps the most explosive of the revelations, for Moses Obeid and his family have been insisting for weeks that they have no connection to the company.

Confronted

After the lunch break, Mr Obeid was confronted with documentary evidence to the contrary.

Five months before the Australian Water telephone call, he and his brothers, as directors of the Obeid family trust, were signing an agreement to buy a 50 per cent stake in Australian Water for $3 million.

Mr Watson gave a copy of the agreement to Mr Obeid.

He held it in his hands and then Mr Watson asked him if he had seen it before.

“I don’t recall seeing it,” he said.

“Look at page seven. Is that your signature, Mr Obeid? Have you seen the document before?” Mr Watson asked.

“Maybe. OK withdrawn. Yes, I have,” Mr Obeid replied.

Upgraded lifestyle

Notwithstanding the failure of the Obeids to get their second tranche payment, Moses Obeid did acknowledge that the first $30 million went into the family trust fund and had been generously assisting an upgraded lifestyle for the Obeid clan.

It bought three luxury homes for brothers Paul, Gerard and their sister.

Eddie Obeid and wife Judith got a holiday home at Port Macquarie plus a new mansion in millionaires’ row near Hunter’s Hill on Sydney’s waterfront.

Eddie Obeid also bought a new Mercedes.

The trust fund pays $80,000 a year to Moses Obeid’s wife.

Nicole Obeid may not be pleased to know that her husband said that for the money, she does “not a great deal”.

Judith Obeid told the inquiry she leaves financial matters up to her five sons and an accountant.

Ms Obeid said she knows nothing about a family trust account and loans taken from it by family members.

Eddie Obeid will start his evidence at the inquiry on Monday.
Mr Macdonald is also scheduled to give evidence next week.