The New South Wales corruption watchdog, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, has handed evidence gathered during its ill-fated investigation into the leading prosecutor Margaret Cunneen to the director of public prosecutions.
The information has been passed on so prosecutors can consider charging Cunneen, her son and his girlfriend with attempting to pervert the course of justice and giving false evidence to Icac.
Cunneen was accused of advising her son’s girlfriend to fake chest pains to avoid a breath test after a car accident. The high court ruled that Icac did not have the power to investigate the allegations because they did not fit the definition of “corrupt conduct” in the legislation establishing Icac’s scope.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the commission said: “Today, the commission has furnished that evidence to the DPP for consideration of whether charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and giving false evidence to the Commission are available against Ms Cunneen, Stephen Wylie and Sophia Tilley.”
Icac has also confirmed for the first time that the investigation was sparked when it was provided with information by a federal law enforcement agency “that indicated the commission of an attempt to pervert the course of justice by Ms Cunneen” on 31 May 2014.
