No donation disclosure form was lodged with the Australian Electoral Commission, even though it is required by law

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Australian television producer Reg Grundy has been confirmed as the source of a mysterious donation to a fundraiser linked to the Liberal party before the 2013 federal election.



Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) records show that Akira Investments Ltd, a company based in the French Riviera playground for the mega-rich, Monaco, gave $200,000 last financial year to the Free Enterprise Foundation (FEF), a Liberal and National party associated entity.



Regulatory authorities in Monaco told Fairfax Media they had no record of the company. Australian corporate registers also showed no trace. Akira also failed to lodge a political donation disclosure form with the AEC, as required by law.



But an investigation by blogger Stephen Murray found that Akira was once listed as the owner of a superyacht, Boedicia, known to belong to Grundy, the pioneering producer behind TV hits such as Neighbours, Wheel of Fortune and Sale of the Century.



Murray also discovered that the company behind a website showcasing Grundy’s wildlife photography is headquartered at the same Monaco address as Akira Investments.



On Tuesday, an Akira director, Jo Cullen-Cronshaw, confirmed to the ABC that Grundy was the source of the donation.



"I made enquiries of [federal director of the Liberal party] Mr Brian Loughnane and was advised by him that the best way to maintain [Grundy and his wife Joy’s] privacy would be to make the donation through the Free Enterprise Foundation,” Cullen-Cronshaw said in the statement.



"As they are extremely private individuals they always prefer that any donation they make, political or philanthropic, remains anonymous."



Loughnane has denied giving Grundy the instructions, saying all Liberal party fundraising complied with AEC requirements.



The Free Enterprise Foundation came under scrutiny at a recent Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) inquiry into Liberal party fundraising on the NSW central coast.



The inquiry heard evidence that donations from property developers, which have been illegal in NSW since 2009, were sent to the FEF to be “washed” before being passed on to the NSW Liberals.



The foundation’s trustee, Tony Bandle, denied accusations by counsel assisting the inquiry, Geoffrey Watson, SC, that the FEF was “just a way of funding the Liberal Party”.



A former Liberal fundraiser, Ray Carter, told the commission that the FEF was routinely used to channel property developer money to the party, allegedly with the blessings of senior Liberals. “Everyone knew about it,” Carter said.



He said that when he asked Paul Nicolaou, the former head of the NSW Liberals’ fundraising arm, the Millenium Forum, whether sending banned donations to the associated entity was legal, he was told: “That’s what the Free Enterprise was for”.

