Logan Mayor Luke Smith arrested by Crime and Corruption Commission

LOGAN Mayor Luke Smith has been arrested by Crime and Corruption Commission officers this morning following a lengthy probe into his political donations.

LOGAN Mayor Luke Smith has been arrested by Crime and Corruption Commission officers this morning following a lengthy probe into his political donations.

Smith was released on watch-house bail after being charged with two counts of perjury, official corruption and failure to correct his register of interests.

He has this afternoon said he will vigorously defend the charges.

“I have been willingly assisting the CCC with their investigation as part of Op Belcarra. To this day I have not been given allegations behind these charges but I will be absolutely fighting this to the end,” he said in a tweet.

I will be vigorously defending the charges laid by the CCC. I have been willingly assisting the CCC with their investigation as part of Op Belcarra. To this day I have not been given details of allegations behind these charges but I will be absolutely fighting this to the end.

— Mayor Luke Smith (@MayorLukeSmith) March 26, 2018

Smith has been under a cloud over allegations political donors were given favourable treatment with council planning approval decisions.

The CCC’s Operation Belcarra last year examined allegations related donations Smith received via a fund, Logan Futures, in the lead-up to the 2016 council elections.

Logan Mayor Luke Smith (left), with his lawyer, after he was released on watch-house bail this morning.

A report on the operation last October highlighted issues with the handling of donations to the Logan Futures fund, with the use of the fund meaning donations were not individually declared by Smith, despite multiple donations being handed directly to him.

The CCC report stated that investigations into the donations was ongoing.

Smith was also at the centre of a controversy this year over the sudden sacking of the council’s chief executive officer Sharon Kelsey, who was a CCC whistleblower.

Ms Kelsey had raised a series of issues involving Smith with the CCC.

CCC chairman Alan MacSporran had written to the council warning it could be an offence to terminate Ms Kelsey if it was retaliations for her blowing the whistle.

However, a majority council vote days later saw her position terminated.

The dispute is now in the Industrial Relations Commission.

Former Logan City Council chief executive officer Sharon Kelsey. Picture: Josh Woning/AAP

The Courier-Mail in February revealed the Commission had ordered Smith not take part in the council vote on Ms Kelsey’s job after accusations he interfered to try get her axed after she accused him of misconduct.

Council office’s have been raided by the CCC several times since December.

Smith’s office was first raided in December — just days before he jetted of to the US on a council-funded sister-city trip.

The CCC has released a statement on the charges.

It states that the CCC will allege Smith, 48, knowingly gave false testimony at a public hearing relating to its Operation Belcarra.

He is expected to appear in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on April 17.

The State Government will not ask Logan Mayor Luke Smith to stand down while he faces corruption charges.

Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe today said there was a “cloud” of uncertainty surrounding local councils throughout the state, but said it was up to the Logan Council to request Cr Smith stand down.

“These matters are before the CCC and are now before the courts, I am not in a position to be passing judgment on anyone,” he said.

“That’s a matter for Cr Smith.”

Mr Hinchliffe went as far to say he “doesn’t believe” he has the power to stand aside Cr Smith because the matters are still “unproven” and “before the courts.”