Transport official ‘collects $243,000 cash bribe’ at Southern Highlands cafe

A NSW Transport department official was handed a $243,000 cash bribe by a contractor at a cafe in the Southern Highlands in January 2023 in return for work at inflated prices, before later texting a mate to tell him he “only got 20K” in $50 notes, an anti-corruption inquiry has heard.

In his 11th day in the Independent Commission Against Corruption witness box, former Transport official Ibrahim Helmy was questioned about his allegedly improper dealings between 2021 and this year with Twin City, which received about $20 million in work on the state’s roads from the government agency.

The corruption inquiry heard on Monday that Helmy first received a cash kickback totalling $68,000 from Twin City on August 11, 2022. He recorded the amounts that he was owed by contractors, and the dates on which he received payments, in a spreadsheet on his computer.

Helmy confirmed the first amount of cash was left for him in a car so that Twin City director Christopher Brimrose did not have to interact directly with him.

Five months later, Hemly arranged to meet another Twin City director, Nathan Ellwood, at a cafe in the small town of Marulan in the Southern Highlands. The inquiry heard that Helmy received $243,000 at that meeting on January 20, 2023.

Later that day, Helmy sent a WhatsApp message to his close friend Adam Taki, telling him about how he met up with someone earlier but had “only got 20k in 50s lol”.

Under heavy questioning from ICAC counsel assisting Rob Ranken, SC, Helmy – who had two money counting machines – disputed the proposition that he counted the cash that he had pocketed from Twin City to ensure that he was receiving exactly the correct amount that he was owed.

The ICAC is investigating allegations Helmy was the mastermind behind corrupt relationships with nine companies that were paid at least $343 million in contracts by Transport for NSW. He is accused of pocketing $11.5 million in kickbacks – including bundles of cash and gold bullion – from the contractors in return for their being awarded the work on the state’s roads.

The inquiry has previously heard that Brimrose travelled from Canberra to meet Helmy near the Tom Uren lookout at Georges Hall in Sydney’s south-west on November 2, 2023, to give him $220,000 in cash.

Helmy was on Monday shown messages between himself and Brimrose whereby they arranged to meet at a secluded location. While he accepted that they had arranged to meet, Helmy maintained that he did not receive $220,000 from Brimrose. “I recall no cash because I would have noted it down,” he said.

The inquiry was also shown WhatsApp messages in January 2022 between Helmy and Peter Le, one of his alleged co-conspirators at Transport for NSW, in which they bounced ideas off each other about how another contractor, State Asphalting Services, could be excluded from a tender for bitumen sealing work on the old Pacific Highway.

At this stage, the inquiry heard Helmy had an improper arrangement with Twin City, which had put in a tender for the work.

State Asphalting Services’ tender in December 2021 for the Pacific Highway work had been the cheapest at about $580,000, while Twin City’s was significantly more expensive at about $925,000. In February 2023, Twin City was awarded the work.

Helmy also confirmed on Monday that he instigated improper arrangements with another contractor, Capital Lines & Signs, which received about $36 million in work from Transport for NSW between 2020 and this year.

The inquiry heard that Helmy’s modus operandi was to start with an innocent catch-up with a small family-owned contractor to suss them out, and assist them with relatively minor aspects, before developing the relationship to the point at which an improper arrangement was afoot.

In WhatsApp messages on April 28, 2020, to his then colleague Le, Helmy said: “It’s looking not bad. I’m a good salesman. I’m going to close that deal. Just a few more calls and we’ll see lol.”

A short time later. Helmy said: “He’s our little bitch now.”

He confirmed he was referring to Capital Lines & Signs director Andrew Stewart, but repeatedly told the inquiry that he often resorted to exaggeration in his WhatsApp messages with his then-colleague.

Asked whether he targeted small family-owned businesses because they were more vulnerable to his approaches, Helmy told the inquiry: “I wouldn’t go to the big companies.”

Pressed on why that was, Helmy said he did not have an answer.

After four months on the run from police, Helmy was discovered by detectives hiding in a cupboard in a unit in south-western Sydney on September 26. He remains in custody apart from his appearances at the ICAC inquiry.

The public inquiry into the kickbacks is part of an ICAC investigation known as Operation Wyvern. It is the fourth into corruption in procurement processes at Transport for NSW since 2019. Hearings were scheduled to finish at the end of this week but have been extended until November 21.

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