‘I’ve been raided’:Public servant sought to hide luxury car after ICAC raid

A Sydney contractor says he helped hide a luxury Porsche sports car belonging to a public servant after his property was raided by police over an alleged scheme that rigged NSW government contracts worth millions of dollars.

Roads and Maritime Services employees Alexandre Dubois and Craig Steyn allegedly ran a complex,decade-long scheme that awarded more than $41 million in dodgy contracts to friends,family and acquaintances.

A Porsche 997 GT2 RS was involved in the ICAC investigation.

A Porsche 997 GT2 RS was involved in the ICAC investigation.Supplied

The pair used a variety of contractors,some controlled by the same people,to bid for Roads and Maritime Services contracts and spent the kickbacks they received on parties,a luxury car and international flights.

Among the contractors was Hassan Alameddine,whose brother Ahmed Alameddine appeared before the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Monday,where he revealed he helped hide one of Mr Dubois’ luxury vehicles after the ICAC raids.

Mr Alameddine told the ICAC he ran a small excavation business in Sydney but his older brother largely controlled it,as well as other companies that were used to bid for RMS contracts.

He told the ICAC that he was naive and never asked questions about how the business was operating.

“I was naive and I trusted my brother. I still trust him,” Mr Alameddine said.

Asked whether he deliberately refrained from asking his older brother questions about the scheme and how it was operating,Mr Alameddine said:“I knew my place and my place was to not ask any questions.”

It was only after the Alameddine’s family property was raided by ICAC in 2019 that Ahmed realised something was wrong.

“[Hassan] told me that he stuffed up,he said him and Alex[Dubois] were colluding ... and he got caught,” he said.

“He told me ‘I think I’m in trouble’.”

Mr Alameddine told the ICAC that immediately after the property was raided,his big brother asked him to drive to Chester Hill to inform a spiritual leader.

Upon arriving at the Chester Hill property of that spiritual leader,he bumped into Mr Dubois who was dressed in his pyjamas. The RMS employee’s property had been raided,and he was also looking to speak to the spiritual leader.

“Alex tells him ‘I’ve been raided,I’ve been raided’,” Mr Alameddine said,before revealing to the ICAC that he later helped hide a Porsche belonging to Mr Dubois at a family member’s home.

“He was seeking to hide the Porsche,” he said.

The ICAC has previously heard that Mr Dubois collected so much money through the years-long schemethat he had to use a gun safe to store more than $1 million in cash.

Mr Dubois and Mr Steyn are accused ofgarnering more than $6.8 million in kickbacks from their scheme,which included a $1.5 million Ferrari and a handful of other luxury cars,a Rolex watch,jewellery,cash deliveries in shoeboxes,as well as school fees and travel expenses.

Mr Dubois told the inquiry that Hassan Alameddine paid him thousands in kickbacks in turn for government work,while his cousin Muhammed Alameddine had helped settle a dispute between himself and another associate over a government contract.

Mr Dubois said the dispute was dealt with by giving the contractor cash and a $125,000 Porsche that he had previously owned as compensation for no longer receiving government work.

The inquiry continues.

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Tom Rabe is the WA political correspondent,based in Perth.

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