2 weeks Ago By Newsroom
Jailed former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid will not be pursued for $30 million made from a corrupt coal licence deal, because the money went into a "complex web of corporate discretionary trusts". Login or signup to continue reading The NSW Crime Commission concluded pursuing a criminal confiscation case against the 81-year-old and his family was not feasible. The state's corruption watchdog conducted an explosive inquiry in 2013 into the coal exploration licence granted for the Obeid family farm, Cherrydale Park, in the Bylong Valley.
That inquiry ultimately landed Mr Obeid, his son Moses and former resource minister Ian McDonald behind bars. However, after a lengthy review, Crime Commissioner Michael Barns concluded that the time since the licence was issued, the destruction of records, and the complexity of the Obeids' use of myriad trusts and corporations, meant it would not be prudent to pursue the $30 million made from the corrupt deal. NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said it was disappointing Eddie Obeid would not be pursued for the money, however it was the Crime Commission's decision and the organisation was entirely independent.
"I know that people will be disappointed, I am one of them I'm going to tell you," Ms Catley said. "There was never a worse case of the misuse of a person's office than Eddie Obeid's." In a joint statement, Ms Catley and acting Premier Prue Car said the issue of using complex discretionary trusts to conceal proceeds of crime is a national problem that requires legislative reform.
"That's why the Commission - alongside several other state and Commonwealth agencies - is contributing to the development of a national approach to beneficial ownership disclosure obligations," the pair stated. "The NSW government supports legislative change to ensure that people who engage in corrupt conduct are not able to hide the proceeds of these crimes." Mr Obeid and former ministers Joe Tripodi and Tony Kelly will face separate trials next year over allegations that they doctored a cabinet submission to gain favourable treatment for Australian Water Holdings, in which the Obeids held an interest.
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