Transport officials had a ‘deliberate strategy’ to prey on small firms for kickbacks

Two alleged co-conspirators in a kickback scandal rocking NSW’s transport department deliberately preyed on the anxieties of start-up firms and small family-run businesses about whether they would win work on state roads, using their fears to entice them into corrupt deals, an inquiry has heard.

Appearing on Tuesday in the witness box at the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s inquiry into the scandal, sacked Transport for NSW officer Peter Le was grilled about the strategy he and Ibrahim Helmy, the alleged mastermind of the kickback schemes, used in attempting to reel in contractors.

The hearing was shown WhatsApp messages in late 2021 and early 2022 outlining the steps they planned to take in encouraging contractor Twin City to enter into a kickback arrangement for sealing and asphalting work. In the messages the pair discussed Helmy meeting one of the Twin City directors.

In the exchange between the pair on December 8, 2021, Le said: “Tell him if he’s interested you can organise even more asphalt for the c---.”

He added: “Yeah suss them out first obviously lol.”

Later, Helmy said: “Let’s add them to the list hahah.”

Questioned about the reference to the list, Le confirmed to the hearing that it referred to the contractors that the pair had improper arrangements with at the time, which included Avijohn Contracting.

ICAC counsel assisting Rob Ranken, SC, put the proposition that Helmy’s approach, which he was passing by Le in the messages, was to make an initial approach to contractors, followed by a second.

Asked what Helmy’s thinking was behind the approaches, Le told the inquiry that the first meeting was usually about seeing if the contractors would agree to enter into a deal, while the second was to “iron out the details”.

Le accepted that they had a deliberate strategy to prey upon anxieties contractors may have about whether their bids for work were competitive. In turn, it allowed the two Transport for NSW officials to take advantage of the contractors’ concerns because it would be clear that without their help they would not win tenders.

The inquiry also heard that they preyed on small firms’ anxieties that larger companies would be able to put in cheaper rates to win work.

Under the arrangements, Le confirmed that the contractors would pay Helmy a percentage of the total value of the work they would do for Transport for NSW. The inquiry has previously heard that Twin City received about $20 million of work from the agency between October 2021 and June this year.

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 in return for kickbacks. Le has previously confirmed to the inquiry that his involvement with Helmy in the kickback scheme began in 2018.

On Tuesday the inquiry was also shown a WhatsApp message exchange on January 5, 2022, in which Le said: “You know what I like. Scheming.”

Helmy responded: “Hahahaha me too. I like bouncing ideas.”

Questioned about those messages, Le accepted the proposition that he was expressing his enjoyment at corrupting the tender process at Transport for NSW.

He also accepted that the extent of the pair’s improper actions went as far as Helmy removing from consideration contractors that had made cheaper bids for work, allowing him to inflate the value of works for his preferred contractor.

Other actions by the pair included making fake submissions and backdating emails to further their own objectives, as well as giving false explanations to Transport for NSW colleagues about the circumstances in which tenders were received.

Le was also questioned on Tuesday about dealings with contractor Kerway Asphalting, which received about $35 million of work from the transport agency between 2019 and this year.

The inquiry was shown messages between him and Helmy in November 2020, in which Le said: “They are all the same just a bunch of white c---s paying us.”

Helmy responded: “Exactly hahah. They’re all just a bunch of f------ wages at the end of the day.”

Questioned about them, Le rejected the proposition put to him by Ranken that the messages showed the pair saw the contractors as merely people who were there to pay them money to which they were not entitled.

Helmy, 38, is accused of pocketing $11.5 million in kickbacks over 15 years from contractors in return for them being awarded work. Helmy and Le were stood down from Transport late last year and sacked in February.

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.

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