Monaco donor gives to Liberal fund-raising body
The building where Monaco company Akira Investments has its mailing address.
the Les Caravelles building enjoys a dress circle position overlooking
Port Hercules - a popular place for the world's mega-rich to park their
super yachts when visiting the Cote d'Azur.
According to documents filed with the Australian Electoral
Commission, it is also the mailing address for Akira Investments Ltd, a
generous donor to the Free Enterprise Foundation, a mysterious entity
closely linked to the Liberal and National parties.
Given the foundation has no phone number and no website, just
how a company domiciled in Monaco came to donate $200,000 last
financial year - an extraordinarily large donation by Australian
standards - is intriguing enough.
But just who is behind Akira Investments is also shrouded in
mystery. Regulatory authorities in Monaco say there is no record of its
existence. Nor does it appear in Australian company records.
According to the Australian Electoral Commission, Akira
Investments has failed to lodge a political donation disclosure form, as
required by law.
But an AEC spokesman said the commission is powerless to
chase the company as the act governing its operations does not have
''international jurisdiction''.
Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane did not
respond to a request to discuss the donation to the foundation, which
is classified as an ''associated entity'' of the Liberal and National
parties for election funding purposes.
The foundation's long-serving trustee, Canberra accountant Tony Bandle, did not return Fairfax Media's call or an email.
Mr Bandle was recently grilled at the NSW Independent
Commission Against Corruption about whether the foundation was used to
channel funds from banned donors back to the NSW Liberals.
''Well, what I want to know is - I'll put it to you directly,
this is just a way of funding the Liberal Party isn't it?'' asked
Geoffrey Watson, SC, counsel assisting. ''No, I don't believe so,'' Mr
Bandle replied. The inquiry produced a letter from the NSW Liberal
Party's then chief fund-raiser, Paul Nicolaou, to Mr Bandle. It was
dated December 16, 2010, only months out from the NSW state election.
Mr Nicolaou attached a $53,000 cheque from banned donor
Nathan Tinkler's Boardwalk Resources. ''They would like the trustees to
consider donating their contributions to the Liberal Party of Australia
NSW Division,'' Mr Nicolaou wrote.
This practice was repeated on numerous occasions but Mr
Bandle insisted that the foundation had the discretion not to follow
such instructions. However, he could not name a single instance when he
had not done as he was told.
Another witness, Ray Carter, an electorate officer for former
NSW energy minister Chris Hartcher, told the inquiry, ''I was told from
the beginning, the best way to raise money [was] through the Free
Enterprise Foundation''.
Mr Carter said he knew the money was from banned donors and had discussed the ''legality'' with Mr Nicolaou.
''He said, more or less, 'that's what the Free Enterprise was for'. ''
As a result of allegations raised at ICAC, Mr Nicolaou
recently stepped down as executive director of the Millennium Forum, the
Liberals' chief fund-raising body.
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