ICAC drops probe into ex-mayor over alleged expenses, developer links

NSW’s corruption commission has said it won’t investigate an ex-mayor, finding ‘insufficient information’ to suggest the likelihood of alleged corruption.

ICAC has dropped an investigation into allegations surrounding former Canterbury-Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The NSW corruption watchdog has said it won’t investigate a former Sydney mayor, and Labor upper house candidate, revealing there was “insufficient evidence” to suggest corruption.

In a letter to NSW parliament, the Independent Commission Against Corruption revealed it won’t investigate former Canterbury-Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour, who withdrew from Labor’s upper house ticket for March’s state election over allegations he misused ratepayer’s money on expenses and had links to corrupt ex-minister Eddie Obeid.

The parliamentary inquiry cleared Mr Asfour of wrongdoing and the former mayor denied all the allegations, calling it a “public lynching”.

However, both the inquiry’s report and ICAC conceded the various expense claims, and his Masters of Business Administration degree he charged to council, were “not in line with community expectations”.

ICAC has said it won’t investigate corruption allegations centring around ex-mayor Khal Asfour.

The inquiry’s report said it was “troubled” by the various expense claims and ICAC commissioner Paul Lakatos argued whether it was palatable to ratepayers, although conceded it fell within council guidelines.

“Regardless of whether a reasonable person would consider it acceptable for Mr Asfour to charge his MBA, clothing purchases and trip expenses to council, it appears (it) fell within council’s expenses policy,” Mr Lakatos wrote.

Anthony Whealy KC said ICAC’s decision was “conclusive” and instead was critical of council policy.

“It’s a pretty undesirable and bad expenses policy, but the fact (the conduct) accords to it means it can’t amount to the definition of corruption,” he said.

“The expenditure policy does look overly generous, if I were a local ratepayer I wouldn’t be happy that we were paying for his MBA.”

Mr Asfour, who resigned as mayor in May, said the allegations and “trial of public opinion” had “derailed his political career”.

Former Canterbury-Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour said he was subject to a “trial of public opinion”.

“I feel vindicated, it was a relentless pursuit of thousands of documents across my career,” he said.

Mr Asfour called the inquiry a “kangaroo court” and “political hatchet job”, set up to derail his political candidacy and the Labor Party in the lead up to March’s state election.

“I have no recourse, I can’t go back in time and change what happened,” he said, calling for a rethink on instances of abuse of parliamentary privilege.

“You can’t measure the reputational damage and hurt that it’s inflicted on me and my family.”

Three further allegations were determined by ICAC to be “not sufficient to indicate a reasonable likelihood of corrupt conduct”.

Anthony Whealy KC said ICAC’s decision seemed conclusive, instead taking aim at the expenses policy itself.

Allegations of corrupt conduct involving the redevelopment of West Terrace car park and Bellevue Venue, both in Bankstown, were found to lack “sufficient information” to suggest corruption.

The watchdog also found the use of council’s letterhead to announce his election withdrawal to “not appear sufficiently serious and systemic to warrant investigation”.

ICAC found no corruption evident in an allegation of favouring a business who donated to Mr Asfour, and said this matter should instead be put to the NSW Electoral Commission.

The allegations were first aired in 2022 under parliamentary privilege by then Labor MP Tania Mihailuk, who had previously been on council with Mr Asfour, and had alleged he had worked to “further the interests” of Obeid with the Bankstown car park development.

The inquiry was established thereafter, although cleared Mr Asfour of wrongdoing, as did a council-led investigation into the allegations.

Mr Asfour withdrew from Labor’s ticket in February, replaced with the then party state general secretary, Bob Nanva.