'Sham' transaction: Eric Roozendaal received $44000 car, inquiry told - Sydney Morning Herald

Will feature in the first part of the inquiries ... former minister Eric Roozendaal.

Eric Roozendaal collected a $44,000 car without paying a cent and without asking to see any registration papers even though he was the state's roads minister at the time.

The transaction in 2007, which was facilitated by the family of Labor kingpin Eddie Obeid, has become the centre of the opening segment of a five month public inquiry by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

In an opening address, counsel assisting the Commission, Geoffrey Watson SC, said the transaction was a "sham" designed to disguise a financial benefit conferred on a cabinet minister.

"Financial benefits like the one here can be provided as an inducement for corrupt conduct," he told the inquiry on Thursday.