One of Victoria's richest local politicians oversaw a campaign that included dummy candidates with bogus enrolment addresses and false occupations to try and ensure his own victory at the October council elections.
One candidate also claimed to work for a disability charity that is not registered with the federal charities regulator.
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Intaj Khan is hard to ignore
Wyndham councillor Intaj Khan is under pressure over land, business & Labor deals.
A Fairfax Media investigation has found that councillor Intaj Khan, who aspires to one day be a Labor MP, was re-elected to Wyndham council on the preferences of a team of dummy running mates, some enrolled – but not resident – at properties owned by him, and/or claiming to work at what appear to be phantom organisations.
Cr Khan, who is loosely aligned to Premier Daniel Andrews' left sub-faction, is already under investigation by the local government watchdog after Fairfax Media in September detailed his repeated failure to declare multiple property and commercial interests, as required by the local government laws.
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He was narrowly re-elected in October after a record 95 candidates – many of them dummies only running to feed votes to others – contested the election.
The Fairfax Media investigation has raised some serious questions about the conduct of the Khan campaign.
Of particular note was the candidacy of Hayley Louise Williams, who claimed in her election material to be the chief executive of the Victoria Disability Support Foundation.
On the charity's website – which is no longer live – Khan was listed as secretary. Its headquarters are registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria as being at a West Melbourne property, which property records show is owned by Khan.
The website also sought public donations and claimed to be registered with the charities regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for Profit Commission (ACNC). However the ACNC has confirmed no such charity is registered with it.
Ms Williams is in fact a former employee of Cr Khan's Western Institute of Technology, a contentious private training college that has contributed tens of millions of dollars to his $70 million fortune.
She was enrolled to contest the Wyndham election at 547 Sayers Road, Hoppers Crossing, a property owned by Khan.
When Fairfax Media visited last week the current tenants – who have lived there for 12 months – said they had never heard of Ms Williams, nor had she lived there in the period before the November election.
Corporate and ALP records have Ms Williams living in an apartment in Park Street, South Melbourne.
Quizzed on Friday about his relationship with Ms Williams, Cr Khan confirmed she was a former employee. He initially refused to comment on the charity but later said he was confident it would "do lots of good work" in the future.
Cr Khan said it would be inappropriate to comment on Ms Williams' residential address during the campaign, insisting it was a matter for her.
Ms Williams refused to comment on the election when contacted last week.
A nomination that includes the misuse of an address is a serious offence under the Local Government Act and carries a penalty of up to two years' jail or substantial fines.
It was the allegation of such a breach stopped elected Brooke Wandin taking up her position at Melbourne City Council after the October election. Ms Wandin and running mate Richard Foster are now facing prosecution after an an investigation by the local government watchdog.
A candidate who publicly acknowledged running to support Cr Khan – most didn't – is serial election contender and drug reform activist, Matt Riley.
Cr Khan told Fairfax he had only met Mr Riley on the campaign trail and denied any connection between the two.
But Fairfax has confirmed Mr Riley was enrolled at 1286 Doherty's Road, Tarneit, which is a rundown farmhouse on Melbourne's outer western fringe – a great location for a horror movie according to one local observer – also owned by a Khan company.
On Friday Mr Riley confirmed living in Heidelberg and never at Tarneit. He also confirmed enrolling at Doherty's Road after an "offer" from Cr Khan. Mr Riley said that in hindsight contesting the Wyndham election was a "mistake", and that he had made a "goose" of himself.
Another one of Khan's team was Helen Simeonidis, enrolled at 37 Dyer Street, Hoppers Crossing. However neighbours confirmed property records indicating the Simeonidis family sold up and left the property in September 2015. None had seen her since.
Ms Simeonidis refused to comment on Friday, claiming she was too busy to discuss the election.
Yet another Khan running mate, Na Zhao, claimed in her election material to be the manager of operations at Melbourne Digital Media Pty Ltd.
Corporate records show the company is owned by former Western Institute of Technology employee and Cr Khan Labor ally, Sahil Kansal. Melbourne Digital Media's registered address is level two of 220 Albert Road, South Melbourne, the headquarters of Cr Khan's private training college.
When Fairfax visited the Albert Street address on Friday there was no sign of such a company.
Na Zhao struggled when asked her Wyndham address on Friday. She said she had moved since the poll and now sometimes lived in NSW and Williamstown. Ms Zhao would not comment on Melbourne Digital Media and said she was too busy to discuss the election. Cr Khan also refused to comment on the company.
In September Cr Khan skirted the issue of dummy candidates but acknowledged encouraging and helping others contest the October council election.
He later told Fairfax Media he would spend $100,000 on the campaign. In July last year, Ms Williams told residents that Cr Khan was paying candidates to run and preference him.
Of the record-breaking 95 hopefuls competing for one of 11 spots at the Wyndham election, just 51 submitted election campaign donations report as required by law. No candidates recorded donations from Cr Khan.
In an interview on Friday Cr Khan denied bankrolling dummy candidates, insisting his team was made up of genuine hopefuls running a clean and honest campaign."
He said that the high number of candidates contesting the election was not due to the field being flooded with dummies, but instead "a true reflection of democracy". "My campaign was a true campaign. It cost me time, money and effort."
"I worked really hard. I faced the toughest competition, with people encouraging people to not vote for me ... simply because I am high profile," he said.
Cr Khan is known for his lavish ways including his red Ferrari, Rolex watch, and plans for a $10 million Tarneit mansion with 16 bedrooms, two swimming pools, a tennis court, a 30-seat home theatre, a seven-car garage and a helipad, dubbed "Intaj Mahal" by his local critics.
India born and raised, he arrived Australia in 1998. He has since built a $70 million fortune, his wealth coming from his private training college and property speculation in his own fast-growing municipal patch.
But his impatience for wealth and power has put him on the radar of political opponents and government authorities; his property speculation and failure to properly declare his holdings has been a headache for a council on the urban fringe where rezoning and development generates vast riches for landowners.
With others Cr Khan has been linked to widespread ALP branch-stacking. He has denied involvement.
Cr Khan was the only member of his team elected in October. He scraped in by just 54 votes, the 632 preference votes from his running mates crucial to his victory.
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