By Sarah Gerathy, Peter Lloyd and Alex McDonald
Video: Eddie Obeid dismisses 'sham' inquiry and demands justice in court (ABC News)
Photo: Eddie Obeid speaks to the media outside his house in Sydney. (ABC TV)
Former minister Eddie Obeid says he has been hung out to dry by "cowards" in the Labor Party, following the biggest corruption inquiry in New South Wales history.
Pressure is mounting for charges to be laid against Mr Obeid and fellow former Labor minister Ian Macdonald after the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) yesterday ruled they had acted corruptly.
The cases have now been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
But Mr Obeid this morning called the inquiry a "sham" and said "the morons from the Labor Party in Macquarie Street fell for it".
"These people wore the carpet in my office when they wanted support," he said outside his Sydney home.
Key points
- Eddie Obeid says ICAC inquiry was a sham, "cowards" in the Labor party hung him out to dry
- Comments come as pressure mounts for charges to be laid against Obeid and Ian Macdonald after ICAC ruled they had acted corruptly
- Former ICAC commissioner Jerrold Cripps QC says criminal charges must be laid to prove that corruption inquiries have purpose
- NSW Crime Commission, ATO have flagged recovering money in wake of the ICAC findings
"They're cowards who don't stick up for the truth and the rights of an individual."
He says he will take the findings to every court in the land to prove he is innocent.
"ICAC is a disgrace. It is supposed to look for corruption," Mr Obeid said.
"What they did was nothing short [of] a Star Chamber for the media that put Labor in the front pages, two ex-ministers for months.
"I won't have this hanging over my head. I've given 20 years of service to the New South Wales Parliament.
"I am a very respected person by all those that dealt with me.
"I am ashamed of some of my colleagues in the Labor Party who became like a lynching mob just to protect themselves, hoping that they can look clean in all this.
"There is nothing in this inquiry that finds a smoking gun against anyone."
Mr Macdonald has also vowed to launch a court challenge against the explosive findings, saying they are "not justified by the evidence when it is carefully read and analysed".
Obeids made $30 million from coal exploration deal
After the marathon inquiry that ran for months, Mr Obeid's son Moses, businessman Travers Duncan, John McGuigan, John Kinghorn, Richard Poole, and John Atkinson have all also been referred to the DPP.
ICAC is a disgrace. What they did was nothing short [of] a Star Chamber for the media that put Labor in the front pages, two ex-ministers for months.
Eddie Obeid
Mr Obeid says the ICAC inquiry has done "tremendous damage" to his family without finding a shred of evidence.
He says his family still stands to make a huge amount of money from its Cherrydale property in the Upper Hunter, but he says that is "my family's entitlement".
In 2008, Mr Macdonald issued a coal exploration licence for a large part of the property. The Obeids made $30 million from the deal.
ICAC officers seized a document in 2011 that showed $18.38 million flowed to family members through six Obeid family trusts.
ICAC found $2.3 million went to Moses Obeid's wife Nicole to purchase a Vaucluse property, about $300,000 went towards Mr Obeid's lease of a Mercedes and more than $200,000 was paid as a deposit on a Port Macquarie unit.
Former ICAC boss says charges must be laid
Former ICAC commissioner Jerrold Cripps, QC, says criminal charges must be laid in the case to prove that corruption inquiries have purpose and to demonstrate that no one is above the law.
"I think that what has been happening in the last year in ICAC is probably the most important work it has done in its history," Mr Cripps told AM.
"People have got to understand what it's all about.
"It's all about exposing corruption in the public sector in New South Wales and the sort of corruption that has been unearthed in this enquiry is unbelievably serious."
During his time as ICAC commissioner, Mr Cripps oversaw a number of big corruption inquiries, including an investigation into Australia's biggest rail service, New South Wales Rail Corp
He says he was disappointed that reports he prepared after the Rail Corp inquiry were not acted on by the DPP.
"I thought there were a number that should have been prosecuted but weren't," he said.
'Accept reform or resign'
Former NSW premier and Labor MP Nathan Rees says party members need to accept reforms or resign.New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell says it could be months before the DPP receives a brief of evidence from ICAC, but says extra funds have been allocated to set up a special unit to pursue the cases.
"The budget increases by around $5 million this year, which in part is paying for a specialist ICAC prosecutions unit," he said this morning.
"We are determined to ensure that the DPP, the independent prosecutor in this state, has resources to deal with these recommendations."
Law Society president John Dobson says it will likely take the DPP some time to decide whether prosecutions are viable.
"There's got to be a lot of evidence from the ICAC investigation that will be inadmissible [in a criminal trial]," he said.
But former director of public prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery says media coverage of the case may have already prejudiced any potential jury.
"There's going to be conflict between the need to overcome adverse publicity," he said.
Mr Cowdery says a judge-only trial could be considered.
ATO, NSW Crime Commission flag asset recovery
Meanwhile, the New South Wales Crime Commission and the Australian Tax Office (ATO) are in discussion about the potential for recovering money in wake of the ICAC findings.
ICAC Commissioner David Ipp flagged the potential forfeiture of assets as a result of the investigation.
Video: Former NSW DPP Nicholas Cowdery speaks with Lateline (Lateline)
The DPP has limited scope to seize assets, but under the Criminal Assets Recovery Act, the NSW Crime Commission can apply to the Supreme Court for an assets forfeiture order "even if the person has not been charged or convicted of any criminal offence".
"That's probably why the ICAC commissioner has referred the matter to the [NSW] Crime Commission," former NSW director of public prosecutions Mr Cowdery told ABC News 24.
"They do have wider reaching powers."
The Crime Commission has been independently examining the evidence since the public hearings into Operation Jasper began in November 2012.
The tax office cannot seize assets, but it can recover tax revenue.
In a statement the ATO said it "takes all matters of alleged tax evasion or avoidance seriously".
"When provided with any information that alleges or suggests potential tax evasion or avoidance, we consider it, assess the risks and take action where appropriate."
