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The New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption will hold a public inquiry into corruption allegations against people associated with the NSW Liberal party, including fugitive property developer Jean Nassif.

Allegations of branch stacking, previously examined by a NSW parliamentary inquiry, have reportedly been investigated for several years by Icac before upcoming hearings were announced on Wednesday.

The inquiry was sparked by a 2022 speech in parliament by the Liberal MP for Kellyville, Ray Williams, alleging senior members of the party had been “paid significant funds” to install new councillors on the Hills Shire council to support development applications by Nassif’s company Toplace.

The scope of the Icac inquiry, expected to run for eight weeks from late July, will be wider. On Wednesday, Icac said it was investigating allegations against nine people, including Nassif, two brothers of the former Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet, the chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW and two Labor councillors.

So who is involved and what does it mean for the NSW Liberal party eight months out from a state election?

What is Icac investigating?

Icac says it is investigating three key allegations.

The first includes the central allegation that Liberal figures or lobbyists Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood, Robert Assaf and Jean-Claude Perrottet “solicited or accepted” donations, including from prohibited donors, in amounts which were undeclared or exceeded caps, to recruit or renew members to the party – a practice known as “branch stacking”.

As part of this, Icac is investigating donations made by Catholic Schools NSW, allegedly arranged and approved by its CEO, Dallas McInerney, as well as donations made by the company Paslibdan Pty Ltd, on behalf of hotelier Michael O’Hara.

The watchdog is examining a second allegation: that between 2020 and 2023, Nassif and his company, Toplace, prohibited from donating as a property developer, made donations solicited or accepted by Ellis, Greenwood and Charles Perrottet “in exchange for the pursuit of outcomes sought by Mr Nassif”.

The alleged outcomes include damage to the political career of the former Liberal state transport minister David Elliott, the removal of the then-building commissioner, David Chandler, and “preventing [Chandler] from exercising his official functions in respect of Mr Nassif’s developments”.

The inquiry will look at a third allegation, that two Labor Strathfield councillors, Sharangan Maheswaran and Karen Pensabene, engaged in conduct towards fellow councillor Matthew Blackmore in a way “that involves the dishonest or partial exercise of their official functions and/or a breach of public trust, including conduct which could involve blackmail” and possible breaches of the Surveillance Devices Act.

Who is involved?

Nassif, a property developer whose family business Toplace collapsed in 2023, left Australia for Lebanon in 2022 following an investigation which found dozens of defects in three separate residential developments constructed by the company.

In June 2023, NSW police issued an arrest warrant for the developer in relation to allegations of financial wrongdoing and “large-scale fraud” at Toplace, but he has never been charged. Nassif, who has previously denied any wrongdoing, was contacted for comment by Guardian Australia.

Jean-Claude and Charles Perrottet are the brothers of the former Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet, who is not accused of any wrongdoing. Both brothers, powerbrokers in the Liberal right faction, refused to appear at the parliamentary inquiry into allegations of branch stacking. Charles was unable to be summoned because he lives in Victoria, while Jean-Claude refused to appear because he was overseas and had not been served with a summons.

The men, who have previously denied any wrongdoing, were contacted for comment.

Christian Ellis is a former member of the Liberal state executive who allegedly led a branch-stacking operation against the former federal Liberal leader, Sussan Ley.

Jeremy Greenwood is the director of JPG Advisory, a political lobbying firm whose clients include the Catholic archdiocese of Sydney and Catholic Schools NSW.

Dallas McInerney was appointed as the inaugural chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, the governing body for the state’s 600 Catholic schools, in 2017. The former member of the Liberal state executive is a factional ally of the federal Liberal leader, Angus Taylor, who is not accused of any wrongdoing.

In a statement reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, McInerney said he had offered to stand aside “to allow the work of Catholic Schools NSW to continue its important mission”.

“I was keen to privilege the work of Catholic Schools NSW before my own standing,” he said. 

On Wednesday, McInerney resigned from the board of the NSW Education Standards Authority and on Thursday, he stood aside from his role at Catholic Schools NSW for the duration of the Icac investigation.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Robert Assaf, a former communications manager for Catholic Schools NSW, later became the head of corporate affairs at Greyhound Racing NSW, another client of Greenwood’s firm.

Michael O’Hara, described in Icac’s announcement as a hotelier and “prohibited political donor”, is the director of Paslibdan Pty Ltd, a company registered in Hunters Hill in northern Sydney.

Ellis, Robert Assaf, Greenwood, McInerney and O’Hara were contacted for comment by Guardian Australia.

Maheswaran, who was previously engaged as a lawyer by Nassif, was a Labor councillor in Strathfield from 2021 to 2025, when he did not seek reelection. Pensabene is a current Labor councillor in Strathfield, who succeeded Matthew Blackmore as mayor in 2023, serving in that role until August 2024.

In response to Icac’s announcement, Maheswaran told Guardian Australia: “I have every confidence that my actions will be regarded by the public and by any fair tribunal to be lawful and entirely in the public interest”. Pensabene was contacted for comment.

Following Wednesday’s announcement, the office of the NSW premier, Chris Minns, confirmed he would ask Labor head office to suspend the party memberships of Maheswaran and Pensabene during the inquiry.

What does this mean for the NSW Liberals?

When Icac announced its inquiry on Wednesday, four years after Williams’ speech, the NSW Liberals put out a statement that it expected “its members to meet the high standards demanded by this organisation, our membership and the public”. But the party said it would not comment on the active inquiry.

On Wednesday, the NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, said “serious allegations” should be thoroughly investigated and there was “zero tolerance for corruption” in the party. She later confirmed that she had asked the party to suspend any Liberal members named in allegations during the inquiry.

On Thursday, the NSW Liberals confirmed suspensions had taken place. Sloane, conceding the Icac investigation was a “massive distraction and incredible disappointment” leading up to the March 2027 election, said she did not know if current Liberal MPs would be adversely implicated.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Sloane, a moderate Liberal who became an MP in 2023 and party leader last year. But the investigation is potentially damaging for the party as One Nation improves in opinion polling. One Nation is up to 22% compared with the Coalition’s 26% in NSW, according to a SMH Resolve poll in May.

Icac has investigated several Liberal leaders and members, including the former premier Gladys Berejiklian. That probe prompted her 2021 resignation.