Casey Councillor Sam Aziz defends himself on Facebook amid allegations of corruption
Casey councillor Sam Aziz, who is alleged to have pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars from property developers, has taken to social media to hit back at the claims.
South East
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A Casey councillor who flew to Egypt amid allegations he pocketed $900,000 from property developers took to Facebook on Monday night to claim he would “vigorously defend” any allegations made against him.
Cr Sam Aziz, who is at the centre of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission inquiry into contentious planning decisions in Casey, is also alleged to have been handed wads of cash for PhD expenses despite not being a PhD candidate.
On Monday, the inquiry heard the money was dished out by developer John Woodman and was designed to buy influence.
Cr Aziz was set to be questioned by the state’s corruption watchdog, but yesterday the hearing was told that shortly after he was interviewed by investigators, he flew to Egypt and it is unclear “if and when he might be returning”.
He made a public statement on Facebook on Monday night saying the stories circling through the media were “ highly imaginative and inflammatory news stories”.
“The stories have even suggested that I have sold my house, and have fled Australia and would not return, so that I could escape scrutiny.
“The reality, as opposed to the rubbish that has been published, is that I did travel overseas for a short period, as I often do, to pursue business and academic opportunities,” Cr Aziz wrote on Facebook.
He said in the past 18 months, his career had required him to travel often, and he had been to China, Singapore, the United States, and now the Middle East, for various engagements.
“Nothing unusual about me travelling abroad. These are the facts.”
Cr Aziz said he was not required to attend the current examination process, nor was he ever restricted from travelling.
“I just choose not to feed the media’s ambitions of publishing sensationalist stories by withholding any commentary as there is an ongoing process, so they fill the gap with any old rubbish,” he said.
“I intend to vigorously defend all and any allegations made against me only through the legal process, not through media commentary.”
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The IBAC probe is focused on three developments in Casey in Melbourne’s outer southeast, including Cranbourne West land rezoning and a major development called the Pavilion estate.
In his opening statement, counsel assisting the hearing Michael Tovey QC said decisions had been made by councillors who had not declared they were receiving gifts from project partners.
Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston said the IBAC inquiry was exposing the systematic failure of local government to be able to “identify and manage corruption and fraudulent activity”.
“It’s clear that Conflicts of interest are inherent, “ Mr Hurlston said.
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“Local government controls are weak … ratepayers and residents work hard to pay rates and place trust in their locally elected councillors. We see regular complaints of this kind of conduct across many councils in Victoria, there is usually little being done and ratepayers have little avenue for appeal.”
Mr Hurlston said the investigation was a timely warning to all councillors and staff.
“What you do in the dark shadows must come into the light. Council decisions have multi-generation financial and residential impacts,” he said. “We can only hope IBAC prosecutes anyone to the full extent of the law and that justice for ratepayers will be served.”