Ex-mayor launches bizarre defence to cash-for-favours claims
Casey councillor Sam Aziz, who is embroiled in an anti-corruption investigation, has spoken out from Cairo, slamming all accusations he accepted cash from property developers in return for backing their projects.
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Former mayor Sam Aziz has lashed out at accusations he has taken “bribes”, in a rambling interview while bunkered down in Cairo.
The Casey councillor, embroiled in an anti-corruption investigation, spoke to the Herald Sun while 14,000km from his constituents, saying all payments to him from property developers were above board.
Cr Aziz said he had no regrets about any of his local government planning decisions and denied he had accepted cash from developers in return for backing their projects.
The Egyptian-born councillor has been accused by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission of receiving $900,000 from Watsons developers director John Woodman, or his associated entities, and failing to declare payments when considering matters related to the Ferrari-driving Mr Woodman.
Cr Aziz said on Tuesday: “Unfortunately these allegations are coming out, and they are probably giving the public the impression that the councillors have got their snouts in the trough. Well, we don’t.
“Sure, there’s been some commercial relationships, but I want to say this … if I had my time again I would have made exactly the same planning decisions that I did. I can put my hand on my heart and say that.”
In another explosive IBAC hearing on Tuesday, counsel assisting the inquiry, Michael Tovey QC, revealed emails between property developer Mr Woodman and councillors Aziz, Geoff Ablett and Amanda Stapledon were like a “script” for raising a rezoning matter at a council meeting.
Mr Woodman said he had discussed the Cranbourne West land rezoning with the three councillors.
Mr Tovey also alleged $80,000 had been provided to Cr Aziz before he put an urgent motion on rezoning to the council in 2014.
But from Cairo, Cr Aziz — twice the mayor of Casey in Melbourne’s outer southeast — bizarrely said he had “absolutely no idea about Cranbourne West” and he “had no idea that Woodman was involved”.
“I thought that a company called Leightons was the owner of the property,” he said.
Mr Woodman was grilled about payments of $5000 a month he made to Cr Aziz for procuring Asian buyers of racehorses for a company called Spicer Thoroughbreds — a scheme set up by lobbyist and former Liberal MP Lorraine Wreford and her partner Bernard Lee.
He agreed with Mr Tovey that: “The contracts that you had for these people with Mr Aziz … was really just an excuse to pay money that he was insisting on getting because of his role as a councillor”.
But Cr Aziz said he had unsuccessfully tried to find buyers for horses in Hong Kong.
“The general concept of a bribe is that it’s money under the table, but in all our dealings the money is clearly identified,” he said.
The IBAC hearing was told that part of Cr Aziz’s payments from Mr Woodman would come in cash, delivered by Ms Wreford.
Cr Aziz said that was an “annoying arrangement”.
“How they chose to disperse that is really, you know, something that I had questioned a couple of times. But I just didn’t worry about it because all I cared about was really receiving a contracted amount,” he said.
Ms Wreford did not return the Herald Sun’s calls.
Cr Aziz said the pair would meet in the city or her house. “We would generally have a coffee and discuss the progress of the work I was doing, and she would simply give me that amount of money,” he said.
“I never met with Woodman with great frequency.”
The hearing was told about political donations from Mr Woodman, including a spike in cash for Labor ahead of the 2018 state election when it was “odds on” to win.
Mr Tovey outlined $20,800 was provided from Watsons to former attorney-general Martin Pakula — but the MP denied this and said the only money that went to him from Watsons was $3300 from the sale of tickets at a fundraiser in April, 2018.
In total, Labor received more than $157,000 compared to $63,000 to the Liberals at the last state election, according to IBAC.
INQUIRY HEARS AZIZ PAID THROUGH RACEHORSE COMPANY
A racehorse company was allegedly used to funnel money between a property developer and former Casey mayor Sam Aziz, an anti-corruption hearing has heard.
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission inquiry into the relationship between planning and donations heard that director of Watsons developers, John Woodman, set up a monthly payment to Mr Aziz through a company called Spicer Thoroughbreds.
In his evidence, Mr Woodman said the arrangement with Mr Aziz was to pay him to find “people of Chinese interest” who may become owners of racehorses — although there is nothing to suggest Mr Aziz procured any buyers.
Mr Aziz recently flew to Egypt and has given no indication when he will return, but released a statement on social media to insist he had done nothing wrong.
On Tuesday, IBAC alleged Mr Aziz had received more than $900,000 from developers, and that he had failed to disclose gifts while deliberating on matters that related to their projects.
The Herald Sun has attempted to contact Mr Aziz while he is overseas, but has been unsuccessful.
In his statement online he said: “I intend to vigorously defend all and any allegations made against me only through the legal process, not through media commentary”.
Counsel assisting the commission, Michael Tovey QC, grilled Mr Woodman about the payments to Mr Aziz that were allegedly arranged through former state MP Lorraine Wreford and her partner Bernard Lee.
The owner of the company, Brad Spicer, has told IBAC through private hearings that he has no knowledge of the arrangement.
Mr Woodman was asked by Mr Tovey “did you funnel funds through Spicer Racing to Mr Aziz”, to which Mr Woodman said: “yes, sir”.
Mr Aziz was being paid for work he was supposed to do, Mr Woodman said.
“He was accessing Asian and Chinese clients who would in turn join Spicer Thoroughbreds in the purchase of racehorses.”
Mr Tovey challenged Mr Woodman about the nature of the payments – which have also included a contract for $600,000 to provide advice on “smart cities”.
“The contracts that you had for these people with Mr Aziz, for consultancies, was really just an excuse to pay money that he was insisting on getting because of his role as a councillor,” Mr Tovey said.
In response, Mr Woodman said: “Yes, sir”.
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Mr Woodman agreed with Mr Tovey’s assertion that his “lobbyist” Lorraine Wreford appeared to have set up this payment system with her partner, Bernard Lee, to create a “vehicle that enabled money to get to Mr Aziz”.
Mr Woodman was quizzed about whether this payment was $5000 a month but he said he could not remember the exact amounts.
Later in the hearing, Mr Tovey asked whether Mr Woodman would forgive people if they got the impression you were treating “councillors like puppets”.
“I don’t agree,” Mr Woodman said.