Son of prominent building industry figure charged over $6m extortion

The son of one of the most prominent figures in the building industry is facing extortion charges as part of a taskforce investigation into alleged corruption in the construction sector.

Daniel Van Camp, 51, is one of three men due to face court this week following allegations he and two others were part of an extortion campaign that included making demands for $6.6 million in payments to secure union peace.

He is the son of former union boss John Van Camp, the former industrial relations manager of Grocon, then one of the biggest private building companies in Australia.

Before that, he was the CFMEU crane division secretary and was brought into Grocon in a bid to break the back of a number of industrial disputes between the construction giant and the union.

This masthead does not suggest John Van Camp is embroiled in any of the alleged criminal activity.

Court records name Daniel Van Camp, 51, and co-accused Amir Teymoori, 45, and Gazanfer Bekirovski, 46, as the trio charged last week after raids by Taskforce Hawk, which investigates construction sector crime taskforce.

It’s alleged those involved subjected major building firm Pace Development Group to a terrifying extortion campaign, including demands for $6.6 million in payments to secure union peace.

Police allege Teymoori falsely claimed to Pace that he had negotiated with the CFMEU to reduce union interference on its projects last year.

In a statement, a police spokesperson said detectives would allege the group “falsely claimed to have acted as mediators between the company and union officials, purporting to have negotiated on their behalf to prevent disruptions at the company’s building sites”.

“The company was then sent an invoice for $6.6 million and allegedly extorted,” the spokesperson said.

The recent arrests follow revelations by this masthead’s Building Bad series about entrenched organised crime and corruption in the construction sector and the failure of law enforcement agencies, regulators and the CFMEU to combat it.

The arrests are the second major recent operational development for Taskforce Hawk. In September, it arrested three men over a series of firebombings and attacks on the family homes and machinery owned by construction company directors.

Van Camp, Teymoori and Bekirovski were released on bail by police to appear at court on Tuesday.

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