What Happened
Fugitive Sydney developer Jean Nassif is scheduled to give evidence by audiovisual link from Lebanon at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Operation Rosny inquiry on Friday, 4 September. The appearance marks a significant procedural step for the commission, placing one of the inquiry’s central figures directly before it after weeks of testimony regarding alleged prohibited political donations and attempts to influence government decisions.
The commission’s official witness list names Nassif alongside lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood for the final scheduled hearing day that week. While ICAC notes its witness list remains subject to change, this scheduling confirms Nassif will testify despite an active arrest warrant for serious fraud offences held by NSW Police since June 2023.
The Timeline
The inquiry’s timeline traces back to approximately 2020, when ICAC began examining whether political donations were made by or on behalf of Nassif and his company Toplace. Property developers are prohibited political donors under NSW electoral funding laws, making the source of these funds a primary focus of the investigation.
Phone taps played during an opening address on Monday, 27 July 2026, captured Nassif bragging about his influence over the former state government and boasting that the party’s hard right faction had announced “Jean Nassif is our Godfather”. These recordings were central to the evidence heard prior to this latest hearing.
The investigation intensified following a confrontation in 2021. Sitthixay Ditthavong Chandler, then-NSW Building Commissioner, told the inquiry that Nassif warned him during a telephone call: “If you harm my project, I’ll harm you.” This alleged threat occurred as Chandler and his office were scrutinising Toplace developments, including the Skyview apartment complex at Castle Hill.
Chandler later issued orders affecting projects including Skyview. During discussions about lifting a prohibition order, Toplace representatives allegedly raised an extortion claim of $5 million, suggesting payment could lead to the removal of the order. Chandler rejected the suggestion and proposed reporting it to police immediately. He told the inquiry that Toplace subsequently appeared to retreat from the unsubstantiated claim when investigators sought more information.
Nassif left Australia for Lebanon in December 2022. By the beginning of 2022, Chandler had resigned following an investigation into him ordered by Petinos’ office. The company entered administration in 2023, owing about 600 creditors almost $1.88 billion.
Who Said What
Chandler told the inquiry that Nassif’s alleged threat was part of a broader pattern of intimidation. He recounted a fiery 2020 encounter where he raised concerns about the quality of bathrooms in the Pemberton on the Park development at Botany.
“I think everyone in NSW knows that I was there for having the back of the consumer in NSW first and foremost after I’d seen some of these most egregious projects, these horrible defects that have been left behind and people were forced to live in them,” Chandler said.
Dwyer told the commission that evidence would emerge showing an agreement following a meeting where Nassif was set to pay Greenwood, Ellis and Charles Perrottet “large sums of money to support their recruitment of members and/or renewal of memberships in the Hills, so as to secure control over Liberal Party preselections”.
Charles Perrottet is a brother of former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet, who is not accused of wrongdoing. Jean-Claude Perrottet told Nassif he would meet with his brother Charles soon and promised he would “definitely be having a conversation with him”.
The Numbers That Matter
ICAC is investigating whether political donations were made by or on behalf of Nassif and Toplace between approximately 2020 and 2023. One call played to the inquiry captured Nassif offering $100,000 to support the Liberal preselection campaign of a brother of Dominic Perrottet.
The company entered administration in 2023, owing about 600 creditors almost $1.88 billion, according to figures reported as the ICAC hearings were announced. In June, Ashlyn pleaded guilty at Burwood Local Court to providing false or misleading information used to obtain a $150 million Westpac construction loan for three apartment towers in north-west Sydney.
Dwyer also noted that Catholic Schools NSW began paying JPG Advisory, another Greenwood-linked company, after payments to Nassif’s associates stopped. Dwyer said evidence would show Catholic Schools NSW paid Greenwood’s government relations company Beckington more than $130,000 over two years “in circumstances where there appears to be little or no evidence of substantive work being done to justify that amount”.
Why This Matters
The commission is investigating whether the alleged donations were used to recruit or renew Liberal Party members, whether schemes were created to circumvent electoral funding laws, and whether money was exchanged for the pursuit of political outcomes sought by Nassif.
Those alleged outcomes included damaging the political career of former NSW minister David Elliott and removing then-NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler from office, or preventing Chandler from exercising his official responsibilities involving Nassif’s developments. These remain allegations being examined by ICAC.
The commission has not yet delivered findings of corrupt conduct. Its role is to investigate the allegations, gather evidence and determine whether corrupt conduct occurred. The appearance would put one of the inquiry’s central figures directly before the commission after weeks of evidence examining alleged prohibited political donations, Liberal Party factional activity and attempts to influence government decisions affecting Nassif’s Toplace developments.
The corruption watchdog was last week told of a broad smear campaign against Chandler, including unsubstantiated claims he would take money in brown paper bags and had shown favourable treatment to some companies. The commission is examining the wider relationship between Nassif, Toplace and members of a right-wing Liberal faction known as the NSW Reformers.
ICAC is not conducting a criminal trial. Whether his evidence supports, challenges or changes the accounts already heard will become clearer when he faces the commission on 4 September.