The ‘shady’ dealings that led Dominic Perrottet to run out the back door of a cafe instead of answering questions
- Dominic Perrottet’s brothers face investigative scandal
- The New South Wales Premier was confronted over the allegations.
- He fled out the back door of a cafe to avoid questions.
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet was caught fleeing out the back door of a cafe from a camera crew after they confronted him over allegations his brothers were involved in shady deals with property developers.
Both Jean-Claude and Charles Perrottet failed to appear at a parliamentary inquiry last month that looked into stacking up of Liberal branches and an alleged $50,000 bid to oust Liberal federal MP, Alex Hawke.
The inquiry was sparked by claims made under parliamentary privilege by Liberal State MP Ray Williams about deals between party agents and developers.
He claimed that Perrottet’s brothers and senior Liberal members had been paid to install new councilors for the benefit of a development company called Toplace run by Jean Nassif.
Mr. Nassif is currently in Lebanon. Her glamorous lawyer daughter, Ashlyn Nassif, 27, recently faced Sydney’s Downing Town Center Local Court on fraud charges after four family properties were raided, including her father’s home and office.
The prime minister avoided further questions about his brothers by fleeing out the back door of a cafe toward the waiting motorcade.
Property developer Jean Nassif is at the center of a parliamentary inquiry into alleged wrongdoing by councilors on Hills Shire Council (pictured with his wife Nisserine Nassif)
When a camera crew from A Current Affair confronted the prime minister over the allegations outside a Concord restaurant in Sydney’s inner west, he kept quiet.
“I am not my brother’s keeper,” said Perrottet.
He also denied any knowledge that his sister-in-law, Anita Perrottet, who is Charles’s wife, lobbied for Toplace through her company, Macquarie Consulting.
With the awkward line of questioning just over a week before the New South Wales state election, Perrottet ran out the back door of the Cucina Espresso cafe into a waiting motorcade as interviewer Steve Marshall gave chase.
Charles Perrottet wrote to the inquest at the time saying that as he no longer lived in NSW he was not required to give evidence.
I decline your invitation. I am a resident of Victoria. I have been residing in Victoria since January 2021,’ she wrote.
Meanwhile, Jean-Claude disappeared for a month while summons servers searched for him in NSW to try to get him to turn up.
Because he was not found before the investigation was finished, due to the state election on March 25, he avoided giving evidence at the Hills Shire Council inquiry.
Jean-Claude Perrottet was finally located last Tuesday morning by a Channel Nine TV team, hiding in a relative’s house.
His lawyer daughter, Ashlyn Nassif (pictured), recently faced down in Downing Town Center Local Court in Sydney on charges of fraud.
Jean-Claude Perrottet (pictured) and his brother Charles Perrottet failed to appear at a parliamentary inquiry last month that investigated the Liberal branch’s attempted stacking and an alleged $50,000 offer to oust Liberal federal MP, Alex Hawke .
Charles (pictured) and Jean-Claude have been charged under parliamentary privilege with making deals with property developers.
When asked where he had been, a surprised Perrottet said that he had been “abroad”.
However, he did not respond when asked, “Why did you try to dodge (the query)?”
The parliamentary committee said the absence of Perrottet and Liberal leader Christian Ellis was the most committed, serious and coordinated evasion it has ever seen.
His final report recommended that a new inquiry be set up after the election, and that it should call Jean-Claude Perrottet, Charles Perrottet, Christian Ellis, and Toplace director Jean Nassif to give testimony.
The prime minister had previously blamed Labor and the Greens for orchestrating the inquiry to embarrass him ahead of the election.