The Guardian ·
Sydney real estate agent tells Icac his statement was written with ChatGPT not by Labor councillor
Mohammad Abedin denies statement was written by a former Labor councillor under investigation for allegedly blackmailing a colleague, inquiry hears
A Sydney estate agent says he used ChatGPT to help write a statement provided to the New South Wales corruption watchdog, but denied it was written by a former Labor councillor under investigation for allegedly blackmailing a colleague, an inquiry has heard.
Mohammad Abedin told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Thursday he could not explain why a document titled “Mohammad Abedin statement.docx” was sent by Sharangan Maheswaran to the lawyer who witnessed Abedin’s statement, but denied it showed Maheswaran had written it.
Abedin accepted he had no evidence for an allegation of “a dodgy deal out the back” mentioned in the statement about the former Strathfield mayor, Matthew Blackmore. Blackmore is not accused by Icac of any wrongdoing.
Icac is investigating whether Maheswaran and fellow Strathfield councillor Karen Pensabene engaged in conduct towards Blackmore in a way “that involves the dishonest or partial exercise of their official functions and/or a breach of public trust, including conduct which could involve blackmail” and possible breaches of the Surveillance Devices Act.
Maheswaran, who is expected to appear before the commission on Friday, has denied any wrongdoing. The former councillor was also a lawyer to fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and his company, Toplace.
Nassif, who is under investigation for allegedly making $2m in prohibited political donations to Liberal party figures, insisted he was “not corrupt” in an explosive appearance at the inquiry earlier this week.
On Thursday, the commission heard that Abedin, who came to Australia in 2004, had employed Blackmore at his real estate agency, but fell out with him after he left the business in 2023, taking clients.
He said he subsequently came to be personally close to Maheswaran, who Blackmore had previously introduced to him, accepting counsel assisting, Juliet Curtin’s suggestion that they discussed their “mutual dislike” of Blackmore.
“Yes, of course. I hated him [Blackmore]. He took the business away,” he said.
On Monday, Blackmore alleged he had been threatened, followed and his children secretly recorded after he refused to honour an agreement with Maheswaran and Pensabene to step down as mayor.
Abedin was asked about the statement he provided to Icac containing the allegations against Blackmore. He said he voluntarily provided it, and did not do so at Maheswaran’s request.
The allegations included a “a dodgy deal out the back” from Blackmore’s work on council. After Abedin said the allegation was “just my perception”, and accepted that he could not recall any evidence to support it, presiding commissioner, Fabian Gleeson, asked: “So what is your evidence?”
“Your honour, I have no evidence,” said Abedin.
After he initially he said could not recall if Maheswaran had helped draft the statement, Abedin said: “I don’t remember how I did it, ChatGPT or myself.”
Curtin asked: “So you told ChatGPT what it was that you had to say about Mr Blackmore, and ChatGPT prepared a statement?”
Abedin denied this, but said: “I put things with my word[s] and … the context of the letters. They make it in order, as you can see, bullet point and numbering, and devices help to make it more correctly wording [sic].”
Curtin took Abedin to a message sent by Maheswaran to the lawyer who witnessed the statement in August 2023, before Abedin signed it, sharing an attachment titled “Mohammad Abedin statement.docx”.
“That’s your statement that you say Mr Maheswaran never saw before you signed it,” said Curtin. Abedin denied this.
On Thursday afternoon, he was shown the signed and unsigned statements, which Curtin said were “one and the same”. Under repeated questioning, Abedin accepted that the documents were the same, but insisted that he, and not Maheswaran, had written the statement.
Curtin, saying Abedin was “quite clearly lying to this commission”, said: “I want to give you one more chance. The case is this, is it not? Mr Maheswaran prepared that statement, not you.”
Abedin rejected this, saying the statement was “prepared by me”.
Later on Thursday, Abedin said he may have shared “my draft final copy” with Maheswaran.
Icac’s inquiry continues.