Canada Bay Mayor Angelo Tsirekas has fronted an inquiry by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) into allegations of his own corruption and misconduct, The Daily Telegraph reports.
During the hearing, Tsirekas denied the allegations he deliberately failed to disclose relationships he had with property and development companies, and favoured their interests in relation to planning matters.
It emerged on Wednesday that Mr Tsirekas allegedly went on an overseas trip with – and funded by – executives from the now collapsed iProsperity investment group, who sought to build a 127-metre tower in Rhodes.
READ MORE: ICAC hears Canada Bay mayor Angelo Tsirekas allegedly took bribes by property developers.
According to The Telegraph, in January 2016, the Mayor visited Shanghai with Joseph Chidiac, who the inquiry previously heard iProsperity had engaged in 2015 to provide advice on planning applications.
“I had no idea, no idea at all, that they had a relationship with iProsperity,” Mr Tsirekas said during the hearing. “It was just a private trip.”
ICAC’s counsel, Jamie Darams, said the Mayor was either “naive or lying, and what you have said (about not knowing) is incorrect.”
READ MORE: Corruption watchdog launches public inquiry into Canada Bay mayor Angelo Tsirekas.
Mayor Tsirekas remains on leave from his position on the council as the hearing continues to probe these allegations of misconduct.
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
