In the box ... Eddie Obeid. Photo: Peter Rae
ONLY two days after being sensationally accused of standing to make $100 million out of an allegedly corrupt government coal tender, the family of controversial Labor kingpin Eddie Obeid was back doing what it does best - completing yet another astonishing deal.
As Mr Obeid prepares to be questioned at the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry on Monday, it can be revealed that his family received millions of dollars in ''consultancy fees'' relating to the Top Ryde shopping centre and residential complex.
A Fairfax Media investigation has found that in addition to those payments, alleged to have been paid by the Beville group through an Obeid associate, last year the Obeids acquired five residential apartments in the complex at almost half the cost of neighbouring apartments.
And, contrary to testimony given by Moses Obeid at the inquiry on Friday in which he claimed his father had no involvement in the family's business dealings, Fairfax has confirmed Mr Obeid personally negotiated the purchase of the five apartments with Iwan Sunito.
Mr Sunito's company, Crown Group, bought the residential component of the Top Ryde development from the Beville group two years ago.
''He [Mr Sunito] met Eddie Obeid several times last year to discuss the purchase of the apartments,'' said a source, who said the pair was seen late last year meeting at the shopping centre and the residential site above.
On November 14, two days after being accused of being at the centre of the biggest corruption inquiry since the Rum Corps, the Obeids made a 46.8 per cent return when they sold one of the units for $558,000, having owned it for four months.
Another sold in early December for a 43.6 per cent profit.
Land title records show Pope Property Holdings, whose sole director is one of Mr Obeid's sons, Gerard, bought the five units in June 2012. Settlement was on July 16. The prices paid were $350,000, $370,000, $380,000, $390,000 and $410,000.
But three days before the sale was completed, the Obeids obtained a $4 million mortgage from the NAB using as collateral three of the apartments they had just bought for a total of $1.1 million. The fact that the bank valued the properties at a far greater amount than the Obeids paid suggests either the bank vastly overvalued them or the Obeids got an amazing bargain.
The latter scenario appears more likely, with the profit of almost 50 per cent the Obeids enjoyed when they sold two of the apartments late last year.
For years it was rumoured the Obeids had secured apartments in the complex after assisting the initial developer John Beville. Previous attempts to develop the site had foundered because of traffic issues. But Mr Beville's company, Bevillesta, negotiated a solution with the roads authority and paid Ryde Council $18 million for land access to enable a tunnel to be built under the proposed development.
Rocco Triulcio, a close associate of the Obeid family, was questioned at ICAC last year about ''consultancy'' fees for Mr Obeid's son Paul in relation to the Top Ryde project.
''And the particular services for which he was being paid these sums - and it amounted to millions of dollars - was acquiring local government approval for parts of the project. Is that right?'' counsel assisting the inquiry Geoffrey Watson, SC, asked him.
Mr Triulcio denied the payments were for obtaining government approval. They were for Mr Obeid's property development skills. When asked to detail these skills, Mr Triulcio said: ''Over the years of him being involved in developments he [Paul Obeid] obtained a lot of skill sets.''
Mr Triulcio said the payments were part of the contract ''I had with the Bevilles at the time''.
Mr Beville was recently asked about the Obeids' involvement in his Top Ryde development. ''The authorities know what they're doing and it would be inappropriate for me to comment … And if you were in my position, I can't imagine you saying anything different,'' he told Fairfax Media last month.
After Fairfax revealed last year that Ryde Council had previously given an Obeid-related health company a three-year deal worth $300,000 without going to tender, and had contracted Moses Obeid's company Streetscape to provide multi-function poles despite their being twice the price of a second bidder's, the council has ordered an inquiry into any dealings it has had with the Obeids or any of their associated companies.
Eddie Obeid will be in the witness box on Monday.
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