‘They know everything’: Transport official’s tip-off to accused kickback mastermind

3 weeks ago 13

A sacked Transport department official told the alleged mastermind of a kickback scandal about his confidential grilling before the corruption watchdog in December last year, warning that investigators “pretty much know everything” about their improper dealings with road contractors.

In a WhatsApp exchange shown to an anti-corruption inquiry on Tuesday, former Transport for NSW official Peter Le told his ex-colleague Ibrahim Helmy that investigators “had 150 pages of evidence”.

“They pretty much know everything. They know about avijohn, kerway, twin city too. And lack too,” Le said in the WhatsApp exchange on December 13 last year about their dealings with contractors.

Sacked Transport for NSW official Peter Le appears at the ICAC inquiry on Tuesday.

Le was responding to a message from Helmy about how his compulsory examination before the Independent Commission Against Corruption had gone that same day, despite admittedly knowing that it is a criminal offence to tell anyone about the confidential hearing apart from his lawyer.

In the exchange, Le said: “I didn’t say anything and the commissioner got pissed.”

Le added that he “had to admit to avijohn [because it was] clear as day”.

Helmy responded: “Oh damn … so you had to admit about cash stuff.”

Le told him that he disclosed to the private hearing about them receiving cash relating to a contractor in 2021.

Helmy responded: “Far out, that’s bad.”

Helmy, 38, is accused of being the mastermind behind corrupt relationships with nine companies that were paid at least $343 million in contracts by Transport for NSW in return for paying bribes to him and several other officials. He is alleged to have pocketed $11.5 million in kickbacks.

In the WhatsApp exchange, Le also told his former colleague that he would be summoned to appear again this year, and that “I have to admit to some things for sure”.

Helmy questioned him about how long the confidential hearing lasted, and whether contractors Lack Group and Kerway Asphalting had been mentioned, before surmising that investigators must have retrieved information from his own computer, which was seized during raids in September last year.

Le also told Helmy that the ICAC was aware that the pair had met after the raids, and warned him that “they must still be monitoring” so advised against making phone calls while asking him to “keep it to texts”.

Helmy responded: “Oh my god.”

Under questioning on Tuesday by ICAC counsel assisting Rob Ranken, SC, Le confirmed that, even after he had been grilled by the commission last December, he was considering telling further untruths about the nature and extent of his involvement in improper dealings with contractors.

Le accepted the proposition that he did provide some detail to Helmy about the topics that were covered in his examination, as well as the contractors mentioned during it.

Asked whether Helmy had discussed any plans he had to leave the country at the time, Le said he was told by his colleague that authorities had seized his passport.

Under questioning, Le also admitted that he willingly helped Helmy corrupt Transport for NSW’s tender process by uploading documents onto the agency’s computer system for him.

Mohamed Helmy appears in the witness box at the ICAC inquiry on Tuesday.

His help extended to giving Helmy access to his work email address, which the latter used to send fake emails purporting to be Le that contained a schedule of rates for contractors and other documents.

Late on Tuesday, Helmy’s younger brother, Mohamed, was questioned about whether he knew that his sibling was involved in corrupt dealings with contractors. He was also quizzed about bank statements showing large sums of money that he received from his brother to invest in cryptocurrency.

The questioning was repeatedly interrupted by outbursts by Mohamed Helmy, who was told by ICAC chief commissioner John Hatzistergos to answer Ranken’s questions and show respect, reminding him that he had a duty to co-operate with the inquiry.

In one outburst, he said: “I’m asking this commission to stop making up evidence.”

He disputed the suggestion that he had any knowledge of his brother receiving cash from contractors.

Ranken showed him evidence that his brother transferred $257,200 to him between December 2017 and March 2018. Asked whether it was to invest in cryptocurrency, he responded: “Possibly.”

Mohamed Helmy was suspended from his role in IT support at the NSW Department of Communities and Justice in July after about a decade at the agency.