New South Wales prosecutors have initiated court proceedings against former Labor MP Ernest Wong and restaurateur Jonathan Yee. The proceedings allege that Wong and Yee implemented a scheme to circumvent election funding laws between October 28, 2014, and August 12, 2015.
The alleged scheme occurred in Sydney and other locations within NSW. The NSW Electoral Commission opened an investigation into a potential scheme to circumvent election funding laws in 2019. The investigation focused on funding for Chris Minns's campaign for the parliamentary seat of Kogarah. Chris Minns has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the proceedings.
Operation Aero, an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation in 2019, initially identified the potential breach. A 2022 ICAC finding determined that Ernest Wong engaged in corrupt conduct by concealing illegal political donations from Chinese property developer Huang Xiangmo. The commission recommended seeking legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding the potential prosecution of Jonathan Yee and other individuals.
A parliamentary inquiry heard testimony that Wong and Yee were involved in concealing a $10,000 donation to the Minns campaign, made at a 2014 Labor party fundraiser. The NSW parliament previously held a hearing concerning donations to the Kogarah campaign between 2014 and 2016. The NSW Electoral Commission provided investigation materials to the Director of Public Prosecutions between March and May of this year. These materials were originally supplied by the Public Accountability and Works Committee of the NSW parliament.
NSW electoral commissioner Rachel McCallum said, "The two defendants mentioned in the statement are the only two people that have been referred for prosecution, and that we do not have any active lines of inquiry in relation to this investigation." The commission decided to disclose this information citing public interest and recent changes to the Electoral Act 2017.