Former Renewal SA boss John Hanlon set to face new corruption charges

The former boss of Renewal SA is set to face corruption charges again, after a previous case against him dramatically fell apart.

In a shock move, former Renewal SA chief executive John Hanlon is to again be charged with corruption offences.

Lawyers for Mr Hanlon have been advised an ex-officio indictment will be lodged in the District Court on Tuesday – a move that will prompt an immediate legal challenge from him.

“I have instructions immediately upon receipt of the indictment to apply to have the prosecution permanently stayed on the grounds of abuse of process, the director (DPP) having concluded Mr Hanlon had no case to answer and the evidence disclosed by the director rendering the prosecution to have no reasonable prospects of success,” lawyer Matt Selley said.

Former head of Renewal SA John Hanlon leaves the Adelaide Magistrates Court earlier this year. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Hanlon was found to have no case to answer in June, but now his lawyer has been advised new charges are pending.

Mr Hanlon said he “should be shocked by the announcement, but to be honest after three years of dealing with these agencies nothing surprises me”.

“ICAC and the DPP actions have been questionable throughout this entire process,” he said.

He said both ag­encies “need to be held to account for their actions”.

“Quest­ions sh­ould be asked about these agencies unfettered funds pursuing this matter, especially after the DPP conceded in court they had no evidence to present to support their charges against me,” Mr Hanlon said.

“So why is this matter being continued?”

In a letter to Mr Hanlon’s lawyers, Ms McDonald advises he is to be charged with abuse of public office with two counts of dishonestly dealing with documents in the alternative. The charges relate to a trip Mr Hanlon took to Berlin in 2017 to examine building renovations and co-working spaces as past of Renewal SA’s work on the former RAH site.

After an 18-month ICAC investigation, Mr Hanlon, 62, was originally charged with two counts of abuse of public office, three of deception, one of acting dishonestly and five of dishonestly dealing with documents.

Co-worker Georgina Vasilevski, 44, was charged with one count of abuse of public office and three counts of acting dishonestly.

Prosecutors alleged that in 2017 and 2018 Mr Hanlon improperly spent taxpayers’ money while on interstate and overseas trips, staying in luxury hotels.

However, on June 18 this year prosecutors conceded they could not prove beyond reasonable doubt the pair did no official work on the trips.

Magistrate Simon Smart subsequently found they had no case to answer.

The collapse of the case sparked widespread criticism of ICAC and its methods and resulted in the case being scrutinised by a parliamentary comm­ittee formed to investigate numerous failed prosecutions following ICAC invest­igations. The pair have con­sistently denied the allegations.

Premier Steven Marshall (right) speaks with John Hanlon when he was chief executive of Renewal SA during a tour of the Old Royal Adelaide Hospital in 2018. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Mr Hanlon told a parliamentary committee last month he “had never been corrupt or done anything that I thought was inappropriate and certainly I don’t believe I’ve ever wasted government funds on anything”.

He told the parliamentary inquiry that the ICAC investigation had been “horrendous”.

“You have your home raided and you have your offices raided and you’ve got to explain to your family,” he said.

“It is very hard when you don’t actually know what you’ve done and you go ‘I don’t think I have done anything’.”

He said his daughter was studying at the time “and she had material confiscated from her in relation to it, which … has amounted to nothing and it’s all been given back”.