For almost 10 weeks, the state's corruption watchdog painstakingly extracted evidence from backroom political operatives and even fugitive developer Jean Nassif from his Beirut bedroom. But again, Christian Ellis dodged efforts to bring him to give public evidence about his alleged role in an illegal donations scheme.
Ellis, a one-time Liberal powerbroker and founding member of the Reformers right-wing sub-faction of the Liberal Party, had previously evaded a parliamentary inquiry by hiding in forests south of Sydney in 2023. This time, he managed to stay beyond the commission's reach after relocating to the UK, where the sources report he has no plans to return to Australia.
Final exhibits tendered to the inquiry reveal the ICAC's efforts to secure his evidence. The commission wrote to Ellis and his lawyer several times, offering to sit into the evening to allow for the time difference, offering a break every two hours, and proposing that he dial in from his home so as not to disrupt family commitments. Still, that was not enough to convince him.
Ellis was not staying completely in the dark. The ICAC heard that his mate and former business partner, Jeremy Greenwood, was in regular contact and had flown to meet Ellis in London in June, just weeks before the public inquiry was announced. During his own questioning, Greenwood relayed that Ellis wanted to cooperate with the public inquiry but did not know how.
Assistant Commissioner Fabian Gleeson, SC, addressed him publicly: "If Mr Ellis is listening, the commission waits for his response." In a letter the next day, an ICAC investigator reiterated the arrangements they could make to facilitate his evidence.
The ICAC is now assessing the evidence given by Ellis's former political allies and clients before it decides if any of his conduct amounts to corruption.