A Perth doctor who lent Western Australian Labor MP Jagadish Krishnan $300,000 has spent nearly three years pleading for repayment to fund his daughter's disability support, with the loan still outstanding. Emails seen by WAtoday and 9News show the doctor and his wife repeatedly asking Krishnan to return the money, describing the distress the debt was causing their family.
The loan, documented in a contract from December 2023, was secured three days after Premier Roger Cook appointed Krishnan Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier. The doctor, who asked not to be identified, told this masthead he was promised repayment within six months, but the principal remains unpaid.
In an email from May 2025, the doctor wrote: "You said yes 100% will return in 1 month max. But it's been 1 year and 1 month now and I haven't got the money back yet."
The newly revealed contract adds to concern about his financial dealings. The MP was being sued for $1 million in a US court over an alleged unpaid debt, a claim he has vowed to fight, and has filed defamation action in the WA Supreme Court. Lawyers have also sent Krishnan a letter of demand on behalf of a Perth-based conglomerate for nearly $2 million.
Emails show Krishnan apologised and repeatedly promised to repay. In early May 2025, he wrote: “Sincere apologies for all the stress caused. Will get the first transaction sorted today … will also organise the 300k and interest balance within a month.” By June 2025, the doctor's wife threatened to contact the Minister for Women, Simone McGurk, and later the Disability Services Minister, Hannah Beazley. “We really need the money for my daughter's ongoing therapy,” the doctor wrote in September 2025. Krishnan replied 18 minutes later, promising to “sort everything soon”, but the debt remained outstanding one year later.
Last week, it was revealed that Krishnan spent an average of $150,000 of his own money each financial year between 2022 and 2025 covering spending above his electoral allowance. He also donated $60,000 to the Labor Party in December 2024. The MP took out a $1 million loan against his Mosman Park home in 2024, later refinanced to $330,000 at up to 40 per cent interest per annum. Krishnan is awaiting proceeds from the sale of his GP business, Spectrum Health Group, which is understood to be $47.5 million; after bank loans are paid, he is expected to receive about $8.5 million.
Premier Roger Cook said Monday that Krishnan had assured him his financial arrangements were being resolved. “He's assured me that his financial arrangements are being resolved, and I look forward to that being the case,” Cook said. Krishnan said last week that all dealings in his businesses would be closed on full settlement due at the end of November.
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12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
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- Partly supportedThe doctor lent $300,000 directly to MP Jagadish Krishnan.The Age - Latest News: “A Perth doctor who lent the family of WA Labor MP Jagadish Krishnan $300,000 pleaded with the parliamentarian for almost three years”
- SupportedThe loan was intended to fund the doctor’s daughter’s disability support.The Age - Latest News: “pay back the outstanding loan so that he could use it to fund his daughter’s disability support services.”
- SupportedThe doctor and his wife repeatedly sought repayment, and the debt caused their family distress.The Age - Latest News: “Subsequent emails, seen by WAtoday and 9News, show the doctor and his wife pleading with Krishnan to repay the money, with the outstanding amount causing their family “immense distress”.”
- SupportedThe doctor’s May 2025 email said Krishnan had promised to return the money within a month, but had not done so after a year and a month.The Age - Latest News: ““You said yes 100% will return in 1 month max. But it’s been 1 year and 1 month now and I haven’t got the money back yet,” the email claims.”
- SupportedThe doctor said he had been promised repayment within six months, and the principal remains unpaid.The Age - Latest News: ““I was told again and again and again that it would be paid back within six months, but it never was,” the doctor told this masthead. Some of the interest accrued from the loan has been paid back to the Perth doctor, but the principal amount has not.”
- SupportedKrishnan apologised for the stress and promised in early May 2025 to organise the $300,000 and interest balance within a month.The Age - Latest News: ““Sincere apologies for all the stress caused,” Krishnan wrote in early May 2025. “Will get the first transaction sorted today … will also organise the 300k and interest balance within a month.””
- SupportedKrishnan was being sued in a US court for $1 million over an alleged unpaid debt, and he had filed a defamation action in the WA Supreme Court.The Age - Latest News: “This masthead revealed the MP was being sued in a US court for $1 million over an alleged unpaid debt – a claim he has vowed to fight, and which led him to file defamation action in the WA Supreme Court”
- SupportedLawyers sent Krishnan a letter of demand on behalf of a Perth-based conglomerate for nearly $2 million.The Age - Latest News: “Lawyers also sent Krishnan a letter of demand on behalf of a Perth-based conglomerate for almost $2 million.”
- SupportedIn September 2025, the doctor wrote, “We really need the money for my daughter's ongoing therapy.”The Age - Latest News: ““We really need the money for my daughter’s ongoing therapy,” an email from September 2025 said.”
- SupportedKrishnan replied 18 minutes after that email, promising to “sort everything soon”.The Age - Latest News: “Krishnan responded 18 minutes later, promising to “sort everything soon”.”
- SupportedKrishnan spent an average of $150,000 of his own money each financial year between 2022 and 2025 covering spending above his electoral allowance, and donated $60,000 to the Labor Party in December 2024.The Age - Latest News: “Krishnan spent an average of $150,000 of his own money paying back spending that went above his electoral allowance every financial year between 2022 and 2025. He also made a $60,000 donation to the Labor Party in December 2024”
- SupportedKrishnan’s $1 million loan against his Mosman Park home was refinanced to $330,000 at up to 40 per cent interest per annum.The Age - Latest News: “He also took out a high-interest $1 million loan against his Mosman Park home in 2024. That loan was refinanced to $330,000, with an interest rate of up to 40 per cent per annum, according to Landgate documents.”