The son of disgraced ex-NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid has been slapped with extra jail time after admitting he lied to the state's corruption watchdog.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Moses Obeid was sentenced to two years' jail in the NSW District Court on Friday - with a backdated non-parole period of one year - making him first eligible for release on April 7, 2025.
The 55-year-old is already serving a five-year sentence over a separate corruption scheme, alongside his father and former state resources minister Ian Macdonald.
He would have been eligible for parole on October 20, 2024.
Obeid pleaded guilty in 2023 to two counts of giving false evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
At the time, the watchdog was probing why he provided a former government minister with a car at a heavily discounted rate.
Judge Antony Townsend said Obeid had demonstrated limited insight into his offending and noted his prior offences could also be described as ones of dishonesty.
"The ICAC was investigating a serious allegation where a minister of parliament had the potential to make decisions affecting the Obeid's family business interests," he said.
"The evidence provided by the offender was designed to undermine the ICAC's inquiry.
"Where a person acts to frustrate an ICAC investigation into corruption, the community would expect severe penalties."
Appearing from minimum-security prison via video-link, Obeid hung his head as the sentence and details of the breakdown of his personal and public life were read out.
The court heard Obeid experienced anxiety and depression stemming from his daughter's battle with cancer, the breakdown of his marriage and public shame stemming from media coverage of his crimes.
Obeid admitted providing false statements to ICAC in May and November 2012 about the provision of a Honda CR-V to then-minister Eric Roozendaal in 2007.
Mr Roozendaal was cleared of any wrongdoing, but Obeid was found to have acted corruptly.
When prompted to identify the victims of his offending, Obeid stated "the people of NSW" as his crimes would have eroded the public's confidence in government, the court was told.
Obeid's estranged wife, Nicole Obeid, told an earlier sentence hearing his mental health had deteriorated over his past two-and-a-half years in custody.
At the time Obeid lied to ICAC, he was under immense additional stress due to their daughter's prolonged cancer treatment and a legal battle with the City of Sydney, she said.
Australian Associated Press
