Sydney real estate agent says ChatGPT wrote ICAC statement, not Labor councillor

By the Editorial Team · Friday, September 18, 2026

Sydney real estate agent Mohammad Abedin told ICAC he used ChatGPT to help format a statement denying that former councillor Sharangan Maheswaran authored it amid an ongoing corruption investigation. The inquiry is probing allegations of misconduct and potential blackmail involving Maheswaran and another councillor, with Abedin’s statement playing a key role despite lacking evidence for its claims.

A Sydney real estate agent has told the New South Wales corruption watchdog that he used the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to assist in drafting a statement related to an ongoing investigation, denying that a former Labor councillor under scrutiny authored the document.

Mohammad Abedin appeared before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Thursday, where he addressed the origins of a written statement titled “Mohammad Abedin statement.docx.” The document had been sent by Sharangan Maheswaran, a former Strathfield councillor, to a lawyer who witnessed Abedin’s statement. Abedin said he could not explain why Maheswaran sent the file but rejected any suggestion that Maheswaran wrote it.

ICAC is investigating allegations involving Maheswaran and fellow Strathfield councillor Karen Pensabene. The inquiry is examining whether their conduct toward former Strathfield mayor Matthew Blackmore involved dishonest or partial exercises of official functions, breaches of public trust, and possible blackmail, alongside potential violations of the Surveillance Devices Act. Blackmore has not been accused of wrongdoing by ICAC.

Maheswaran, expected to appear before the commission on Friday, has denied the allegations. He formerly served as a lawyer to fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and Nassif’s company, Toplace. Nassif is also under investigation for allegedly making prohibited political donations totaling $2 million to figures in the Liberal Party; he has denied any corruption.

Abedin, who immigrated to Australia in 2004, said he had employed Blackmore at his real estate agency but fell out with him after Blackmore left the business in 2023, taking clients with him. Abedin acknowledged that Maheswaran had been introduced to him by Blackmore, and accepted suggestions from counsel assisting that he and Maheswaran shared a mutual dislike for Blackmore. “Yes, of course. I hated him. He took the business away,” Abedin told the commission.

Blackmore has previously alleged that he was threatened, followed, and that his children were secretly recorded after refusing to step down as mayor in agreement with Maheswaran and Pensabene.

Regarding the statement he provided to ICAC containing the allegations against Blackmore, Abedin said he submitted it voluntarily and not at Maheswaran’s request. The statement referenced a “dodgy deal out the back” linked to Blackmore’s council activities. When questioned by the presiding commissioner, Fabian Gleeson, about evidence supporting this claim, Abedin acknowledged it was merely his perception and conceded he had no evidence to back it.

Abedin initially said he could not recall whether Maheswaran had assisted in drafting the statement, later adding he believed he might have composed it himself or used ChatGPT. When pressed on whether ChatGPT helped generate the statement, Abedin denied simply dictating his views to the AI. Instead, he said he input his words and context, allowing the tool to organize the text with bullet points and numbering, effectively assisting with formatting rather than content creation.

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