Daryl Maguire: ICAC reveals surveillance operation on ex-MP
In scenes reminiscent of a James Bond movie, ICAC revealed details of how undercover surveillance officers trailed Daryl Maguire, taking photos of him meeting Chinese property developers.
NSW
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In scenes reminiscent of a James Bond movie, ICAC revealed yesterday details of how undercover surveillance officers trailed Daryl Maguire into the halls of the NSW parliament, surreptitiously taking photos of him meeting Chinese property developers.
Surveillance running sheets tendered to the anti-corruption watchdog reveal the extent of the cloak and dagger operation to monitor Maguire on August 9, 2017 — even eavesdropping on his conversations in the Parliament House cafe.
The surveillance was on the same day delegates from the Chinese Country Garden firm were due to meet then Planning Minister Anthony Roberts at Room 803 at 12.30pm in Parliament House.
“Daryl Maguire … stood in the foyer of parliament of NSW … wearing a dark-coloured business suit … and held mobile phones in his hand … Maguire looked down at his watch whilst standing inside the foyer of parliament,” the surveillance team note in their logs.
“Maguire, Lakos (Tim), SU (Bayijuan) and UMl (unknown male) engaged in conversation whilst seated inside Public Cafe, parliament of New South Wales, 6 Macquarie Street, Sydney.
“Between this log entry and the next, a number of snippets of conversation were heard. Maguire said words to the effect “I‘m going to China, Beijing, in October”.
“A black Mercedes sedan, registration (blacked out), herein after referred to as vehicle (blacked out), was parked opposite Parliament House, 6 Macquarie Street, SYDNEY with an unknown male, referred to as UM2, standing next to the vehicle. UM2 was wearing a dark
suit and holding a phone.”
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The undercover agents took photographs of the interior of the main foyer at the NSW parliament of Maguire huddled in the meeting on the lounge chairs, and followed them out into the street, where they were whisked away in a black Mercedes.
The agents noted that Maguire said the company name Country Garden and asked about staff numbers.
Mr Tim Lakos was the head of investment at Country Garden Australia at the time.
The running sheets also stated: “Maguire said words to the effect of “you’ve got a good team here now, things were a little bit shaky to start with but it has settled down. Investments are safe here because of our land titles and Westminster legal system.”
The surveillance began at 10.37am. There’s a gap in the log books where they “continued out of sight”. It then resumes at 14.11, or 2.11pm, when the three visitors left parliament.
It was the same day Planning Minister Anthony Roberts met with Country Garden executives at Maguire’s request. Ten months after the surveillance, Maguire was forced to resign after tapes were played at ICAC in July 2018 talking about his “mega client” Country Garden, a Chinese property developer.
CHINESE COMPANY OWES FARMERS A FORTUNE
A Chinese company that gave $1400 and an all-expenses-paid China junket to disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has left farmers out of pocket to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars after going broke — amid claims Premier Gladys Berejiklian could have put a stop to it back in 2017.
Taped phone calls played at the Independent Commission Against Corruption reveal that Mr Maguire told Ms Berejiklian about his plans to go to China on behalf of United World Enterprise (UWE) Hay on three occasions in August and September 2017.
Mr Maguire also used his official government letterhead to send a letter on behalf of UWE, threatening another Chinese company that if they did not do what he wanted, it would raise “very serious questions by our government about future ventures” with China, causing Ms Berejiklian to gasp out loud at ICAC when she read it.
ICAC has heard secret phone taps of Mr Maguire chatting to Ms Berejiklian and mentioning UWE, but Ms Berejiklian said she did not know what UWE was.
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“If I understood that anything wrong was going to take place, of course I would have taken action, but can I make clear I had no idea what UWE meant,” she said.
“All I knew about the issue, this is my vague recollection, (was) that it involved regional jobs.”
UWE was part-owned by Jimmy Liu, one of Mr Maguire’s business associates.
Mr Maguire’s threat to fly to Shanghai to support the firm on a government trade mission trip did cause the Premier’s office to intervene and prevent him, in September 2017.
Murray MP Helen Dalton, from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, told state parliament she had been contacted by many farmers who say UWE owes them money.
“It has ripped off Australian farmers to the tune of well over $300,000,” Ms Dalton said.
“In February 2018 UWE was reported to ASIC for allegedly trading while insolvent. All this could have been stopped by Gladys in 2017 when her then boyfriend, Daryl Maguire, told her about his plans to go to China and spruik for them.
“UWE paid for Daryl’s flights and hotels. It wrote him a cheque for $1400; a very handy little bit of money.
“UWE is not even in Daryl’s electorate. It is around Leeton, which is in my electorate. My constituents have been directly impacted by this.
“What the hell was Daryl doing wheeling and dealing in my electorate, outside of his turf?”
Farmers have taken to putting big signs on trucks to try to get their money back, and a meeting is due October 30 to “consider the meetings of creditors of UWE — Griffith Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) and UWE Hay Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) be held concurrently”.
Ms Berejiklian declined to respond to Ms Dalton’s speech in parliament, but in her ICAC evidence earlier this week she was shown the August 2017 letter Maguire wrote on behalf of the company.
Counsel assisting Scott Robertson asked: “When you saw it I think I heard a groan?”
Ms Berejiklian replied: “I gasped because that, that is not right.”
“So did you authorise Mr Maguire?”
“No, that’s a shocking thing to write.”