Daryl Maguire, the former New South Wales MP, has been charged with giving false evidence to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). If convicted, Mr. Maguire could face a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.
The charges relate to evidence Mr. Maguire gave to the NSW ICAC as part of their Operation Dasha, an investigation into the former Canterbury City Council in 2018. The commission learned of several councillors misusing their positions in relation to planning proposals for the council.
In Mr. Maguire's original testimony to the NSW ICAC on July 13th 2018, he denied ever doing business with former councillor, Michael Hawatt, or seeking payment for brokering a deal on behalf of a Chinese property developer. Recorded phone calls were then played to the commission which led to Mr. Maguire admitting to pursuing Mr. Hawatt on behalf of Country Garden, a Chinese property company, and also seeking a dividend if developers were to invest funds into a $48 million project in Canterbury.
Mr. Maguire resigned from the Liberal Party a few weeks after delivering his testimony.
The charge against Mr. Maguire comes days before the NSW ICAC's release of its findings regarding Operation Keppel and within the same week that Mr. Maguire is preparing to appear before Sydney's Downing Court in relation to another offence. Mr. Maguire is charged with "one offence of conspiracy to cause to be furnished false documents and false or misleading information etc. relating to non-citizens." This charge relates to allegations that Mr. Maguire was involved in a "cash-for-visa" scheme.