Dubai fraud case: Emails suggest Alexander Downer was asked to lobby on behalf of Marcus Lee

Updated

An email exchange obtained by the ABC has raised more questions about the involvement of former foreign minister Alexander Downer in the case of two Australian property executives jailed in Dubai.

The ABC's Foreign Correspondent program revealed on Tuesday night that Mr Downer, while working as a consultant for hire, had written to the country's Crown Prince in 2009 seeking bail for one of the Australians, Matt Joyce.

The approach involved a negotiation of a success fee, estimated at $60,000.

Controversially his letter, delivered by the Australian Embassy, made no mention of the other Australian defendant, Marcus Lee.

Mr Downer has said that he was not aware of Mr Lee's case, but an email exchange obtained by the ABC suggests Mr Downer's firm had been specifically requested to lobby on behalf of both Australians.

Both Mr Lee and Mr Joyce were working for a Dubai property firm when they were arrested in 2009, and were acquitted last year after a lengthy trial.

Mr Downer, who was working as a consultant in 2009, arranged for the Australian embassy to deliver a letter to Dubai's Crown Prince, urging him to free Mr Joyce on bail - but not Mr Lee.

In an interview with the ABC's Foreign Correspondent program, Mr Lee accused Mr Downer of ignoring his plight because he could not afford his fee.

"We understand that was because [Mr Joyce's family] were able to make a payment to his private company and we weren't able to. We just didn't have the money to," he said.

The "success fee" discussed with Mr Downer in return for him helping Mr Joyce has been estimated by one person close to the case to be $60,000.

Mr Downer, who has just been appointed as Australia's High Commissioner to the UK, says he ultimately declined any fee, concluding it probably was not something a former foreign minister should be a part of.

"I'm not sure how appropriate it is to collect money for that sort of thing. Ever since I've finished up as foreign minister I've never charged on a consular issue," he told Foreign Correspondent.

And he said his letter to the Crown Prince made no mention of Mr Lee because: "I just simply wasn't approached about him so I simply don't know about his case".

Email indicates Downer's firm was asked to raise Lee's case

However, the ABC has now obtained an email exchange indicating Mr Downer's firm had been asked to raise Mr Lee's case.

The first email is from a DFAT official to Martin Amad, a solicitor who was then representing both Mr Joyce and Mr Lee.

The official asks for confirmation that Mr Downer was engaged to represent both men, as the letter from Mr Downer that the embassy had just delivered only referred to Mr Joyce.

Mr Amad immediately emailed Bespoke Approach, the Adelaide-based firm where Mr Downer worked as an international consultant.

"As you are aware, there are two Australians in custody over this matter. I represent both and seek your assistance on their behalf. That is why I referred to both in my emails to you and DFAT," Mr Amad wrote in an email to Bespoke partner Ian Smith.

Mr Smith replied that he was unaware they were supposed to represent Mr Lee, adding: "That may be possible subject to Alex's views."

Mr Lee and his wife Julie have rejected Mr Downer's claim that he was unaware of his case.

Mr Lee says his situation at the time was all over the front pages of Australian newspapers. Julie Lee agrees.

"It was well known to him [Mr Downer] that Marcus was in the same situation," she said.

Mr Downer's intervention does not appear to have been that effective: Mr Joyce was not granted bail until months later - at the same time as Mr Lee.

Mr Lee now wonders if the former foreign minister's action may have impeded his own case.

"We just hope that that representation didn't adversely affect us," he said.

"Representations by senior government or ex-government officials on behalf of one person at the expense of another could be seen as maybe the Australian government has formed a view that certain parties have done something where certain parties haven't.

"And that's what we we're always concerned about."

Mr Downer made the following statement to the ABC when contacted for comment: "It is obvious to any fair-minded person that our understanding was that we were to make representations for Matt Joyce only and this is why only his name was mentioned in the letter. There can be no other explanation."

Topics: fraud-and-corporate-crime, law-crime-and-justice, foreign-affairs, government-and-politics, sa, australia, united-arab-emirates

First posted