Former Downer project manager Kevin Watters has testified before NSW’s anti-corruption watchdog that he did not take an $8000 cash bribe in a carpark and that text messages asking to be “looked after” were not requests for money.
Former Downer EDI project manager Kevin Watters has testified before NSW’s anti-corruption watchdog that he did not take an $8000 cash bribe in a carpark and that text messages asking to be “looked after” were not requests for money.
Mr Cox said in evidence he paid the money, which had been provided by Mr Nguyen, after receiving a text message from Mr Watters that said: “If you put a few extra in for me, or something like that, ’you get the work.″ A recording of a telephone conversation on May 14, 2020 between Mr Cox and Mr Nguyen discussing another rail station project, Wollstonecraft, was played at ICAC’s hearings on Tuesday.
Mr Watters was asked why he had sent a text message on September 11, 2020 from a personal phone that said: “Approved the first $2.8M for you guys this morning, have the rest in my approval queue. Good result for RJS. make sure we’re looked after well! [smiley face with a wink]” Mr English asked Mr Watters if RJS Projects had contributed money to a proposed party on a boat cruise, which included food and drink, leaving at midday from Sydney’s Lavender Bay in early December 2020. Mr Watters said he couldn’t recall.The boat trip never happened. A Christmas function was held in North Sydney instead after ICAC executed warrants on or around December 2, 2020 at Mr Cox’s and Mr Nguyen’s residences, Mr English alleged.