Con Ioannidis, Murat Aslan, Paul Matei and Ozan Tasci charged in IBAC bribery investigation into Victorian Building Authority
A staggering 38 people have now been charged in an alleged bribery scandal that engulfed the state’s building regulator.
Melbourne City
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Corruption investigators have charged four more men in the cash-for-registration scandal that has rocked the state’s domestic building regulator, the Victorian Building Authority.
Con , Murat Aslan, Paul Matei and Ozan Tasci are all due to face the Melbourne Magistrates Court on corruption charges later this month.
In total, 38 people, including three former VBA staff members, are now facing charges stemming from IBAC’s Operation Perseus.
Prosecutors allege tradies paid off VBA staff, via a small group of middlemen, in exchange for pushing through applications for building registrations.
The three VBA staff facing charges are Iolanda Fazzari, Philip Caccamo, and Benedetto “Ben” Sano.
The IBAC probe revolved around VBA staff and the Oztas family in Dallas.
The principal middleman, Omer Oztas, as well as Ozcan Oztas and Fatih “Frank” Oztas, are all facing charges of facilitating the payment of bribes to VBA staff.
It has not yet been made public precisely how much cash changed hands, or under what circumstances.
Of the four most recently charged men, Mr Aslan was issued both domestic and commercial building registration in 2022, Mr Matei and Mr Tasci were issued domestic building registration in 2022, and Mr in 2023.
The VBA referred its suspicions of bribery to IBAC in June 2023.
The anti-corruption watchdog established Operation Perseus shortly afterwards, and charged two now-former VBA staffers in April 2024.
An IBAC spokeswoman confirmed the fresh charges had been laid.
“IBAC has charged a further four people as part of Operation Perseus, an investigation into allegations of corrupt conduct involving the Victoria Building Authority (VBA) and the alleged assessment of builder registrations in exchange for financial benefit,” she said.
“The four persons charged are not VBA employees and are scheduled to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 30 May 2025.
“These charges are in addition to 28 people charged by IBAC as part of Operation Perseus in January 2025, and six people charged in 2024.
“As these matters are before the court, no further comment will be provided.”
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