On Monday, Fairfax Media revealed the former boss of Whitehaven Coal, Tony Haggarty, said he never intended to make a $10,000 donation solicited by Mr Taylor because, Mr Haggarty said, he knew he was a prohibited donor under state donations laws. In an email to Liberal fundraiser Paul Nicolaou, Mr Taylor said Mr Haggarty would write a cheque made out to the FEF. "Tony Haggarty will send you a cheque made out to the Free Enterprise foundation. Tried to push him above the $10k he was going to pay for the lunch but will wait and see what he sends you (he was thinking about it). He knows it needs to be in before January 1. I have committed to set up some time with Barry [O'Farrell] in the New Year," Mr Taylor told Mr Nicaolaou in an email sent on December 16, 2010. Mr Haggarty and the NSW Liberal Party insist the donation was never made. Mr Taylor, who said he approached Whitehaven Coal for money rather than Mr Haggarty as a private individual, has argued that his reference in the email to "January 1" - the date at which the new cap on political donations came into effect in NSW - makes clear that he always observed all applicable rules when raising funds for the party.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence that the Free Enterprise Foundation had been allegedly used to "wash" prohibited developer donation to the NSW Liberals and the NSW Electoral Commission last week said the FEF was used to "disguise and channel" donations, including from prohibited donors, to the party. The NSW Electoral Commission is withholding $4.4 million in public funding from the NSW Liberal Party until the identities of donors, which include a number of property developers, are revealed. NSW election funding records show the FEF gave $693,000 to the state Liberals in four tranches in 2010 on December 6, 22, 23 and 24. This was the same time that correspondence from Mr Taylor, Mr Nicolaou and others shows a push to get cheques into the FEF before the January 1 rule changes. After that date the FEF would have been restricted to donating just $5000 to the party before the March election.

A separate email from Peter McGauran, a former Victorian senator and finance committee member, to funds manager David Paradice dated December 14, 2010 said Mr Nicolaou would be in touch to accept a cheque made out to the FEF and "explain the urgent timing of the issue". The Liberal spreadsheet document, tendered in evidence at ICAC, divides up 253 target companies between Liberal finance committee members, including then party treasurer Arthur Sinodinos and powerbroker Michael Photios. A email from Mr Nicolaou of November 10, 2010 to then state president Natasha Maclaren-Jones says the list "outlines who will be approaching who to solicit donations prior to December 31, 2010". During his time giving evidence at the ICAC, Mr Nicolaou was asked about the presence of developers on the state campaign target list. "Yes, but we didn't approach them. Just 'cause they're on the list doesn't mean that we approached them, and if you look at the records that no doubt you've looked at um, there are a whole range of companies here that we never received any donations from," was his response. A ban on NSW parties accepting any money from property developers had been in place since January 1, 2010.

St Hilliers, which traded out of administration in 2012, donated a total of $20,000 to the NSW Liberals' Millenium Forum in 2010 and 2011. Mr Taylor told Fairfax Media that he was a personal acquaintance of St Hilliers boss Tim Casey but any donation he pursued from the company was for the federal party. Property developers are not prevented from donating at the federal level. "I never approached St Hilliers to donate to a state campaign or for state purposes," he said. "It was absolutely, categorically clear to me that Tim was a prohibited state donor." NSW electoral funding records show that between April 2010 and May 2011 St Hilliers donated a total of $20,000 to the Liberal Party's Millenium Forum, which was run at the time by Mr Nicolaou.

A Liberal Party spokeswoman said: "The donations to the Millennium Forum were used exclusively for federal campaign purposes." "Angus Taylor had no role in soliciting these donations for the Millennium Forum," she said. St Hilliers did not return calls. Follow us on Twitter