A sacked transport department official has admitted lying to NSW’s anti-corruption watchdog about having never received benefits in exchange for assisting the alleged mastermind of a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme.

In his first day before the public hearing of the anti-corruption inquiry, former Transport for NSW contracts and procurement officer Mukesh Patel admitted he lied to the watchdog during a compulsory examination last December when he said he had never received benefits for helping colleague Ibrahim Helmy award work to road contractors.

Patel admitted to the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry on Tuesday that in 2019 he accepted a $100 or $200 gift card from traffic control contractor Direct Traffic, which he claimed was the only instance in his eight-year te

See Full Page