ICAC: Arthur Sinodinos cleared in $700,000 Liberal fund scam

FEDERAL Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos had no findings levelled against him in ICAC’s final report into illegal Liberal donations.

FEDERAL Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos had no findings levelled against him in ICAC’s final report into illegal Liberal donations.

But the corruption watchdog found other senior members of the NSW Liberal Party executive knowingly channelled almost $700,000 in illegal funds to the 2011 state election campaign through an organisation known as the Free Enterprise Foundation.

Senator Sinodinos, who was part of the state party executive at the time, said yesterday that the ICAC process “has been personally difficult and it has taken its toll on me and my family”.

“As I have consistently said, I was only called as a witness by the ICAC. I gave my evidence and respected the process throughout,” he said.

Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos / AAP

The commission found the then NSW Liberal Party finance director, former chief Liberal fundraiser Paul Nicolaou, and Free Enterprise Foundation Trustee Anthony Bandle “knowingly used the Free Enterprise Foundation to channel political donations, including political donations from property developers” in a way that “the identity of the true donors was disguised from the Election Funding Authority.”

But the commission found “insufficient evidence” that anyone else in the party’s hierarchy “were knowingly involved in the channelling of donations”.

The NSW Liberal Party said in a statement that it apologised to the people of NSW “for the reprehensible conduct of a small number of its elected representatives, members and activists”.