Schapelle Corby programme will be aired at her own risk, says Indonesia

28th February 2014

Indonesian authorities will examine the Seven Network’s programme about Schapelle Corby’s release from prison, which they say is going to air “at her risk”.

It’s understood Seven’s Sunday Night has put together a story for this weekend’s program about the convicted drug smuggler that doesn’t include an interview, which was likely to land her back in jail for breaching parole.

A preview of the programme included footage taken from inside the van Seven hired to whisk Corby away to a luxury villa, where she was expected to do the exclusive talk with Mike Willesee.

Seven said there was no interview, but the programme does contains some of Corby’s first recorded words after being released from jail, with the drug smuggler saying: “I feel like a crab.”

Two weeks of lobbying by the Corby family has failed to convince Indonesian authorities that an interview with Corby wouldn’t upset the public, and therefore breach parole conditions.

Mercedes Corby and her husband, Wayan Widyartha, again met authorities in Bali this week, and Mercedes was given permission to be interviewed.

The head of Bali’s provincial law and human rights office, I Gusti Kompyang Adnyana, said the program would go to air at Corby’s risk.

“Since the very beginning I’ve warned that an interview is not allowed,” he said on Friday. “If an interview was still conducted, it’s at her risk.

“We will later see the content of it ... discuss it afterwards and report to Jakarta. If there’s truly a violation, there will be sanctions.”

The justice minister, Amir Syamsuddin, has repeatedly warned of the likely consequences of Corby speaking publicly. “I think all activities that would create unease, social jealousy, they should be avoided,” he said in Jakarta on Friday.

Corby went to great lengths to conceal her face from the media when she was released on 10 February.

As the van she is in exits Bali’s Kerobokan prison, Corby is seen letting out the whoop of a free woman. “Nice one, driver. Woohoo,” she says from behind the scarf she used to hide her face.

When she steps into the luxury private resort where her brother and sister are waiting, she begins to laugh, jump up and down and hug her brother Michael and sister Mercedes.

“You can take your thing off now,” her brother tells her, and she removes the scarf.

The former beauty school student can also be seen Skyping her mother, Rosleigh Rose, back in Australia, and hugging her nieces and nephews.

Seven says there is no interview with Schapelle and the family was not paid for the story.
 
Speculation about an interview sparked a raid of Seven’s offices last week by the Australian Federal police (AFP) as part of a proceeds of crime investigation.

Seven and Mercedes Corby are suing the AFP over the raids.

Police set to pay for raids on Seven

February 28, 2014 12:00AM

WITH every day that passes, the likelihood increases that the Australian Federal Police will pay a real price for last week’s raids on the Sydney offices of Seven West Media and its lawyers, Addisons.
That is as it should be. It would be the most effective way of encouraging better judgment and greater legal rigour at the senior levels of the national police force.

The big lesson from last week’s raids by 34 police, some of them armed, is that an arm of the state should be permitted forcible entry to the offices of law firms and media outlets only when there is clear justification.

On the face of what happened last week, and the failure of the AFP to take any further action, that condition does not appear to have been met.

If there is something more, it should emerge during the Federal Court proceedings that Seven launched yesterday aimed at quashing the search warrants that formed the legal basis for the raids.
If Seven wins on that issue, stand by for civil actions against the AFP for trespass.

Before the raids, there were plenty of rumours that Seven had agreed to pay drug smuggler Schapelle Corby for an interview. There was also plenty of public debate about how dreadful it would be for Corby to benefit from her crime.

Inside the AFP, it would be completely understandable if there was a determination to prevent the agency being embarrassed by moving too little and too late to enforce a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Speculation, rumour and potential embarrassment are not grounds for forcible entry to law firms or media outlets.

Unless accompanied by something more, those factors do not amount to reasonable grounds for a raid and the removal of documents.

The police still have a sealed computer hard drive that was taken from the offices of Addisons and is subject to an unresolved claim of client legal privilege.

The cost of enforcing that claim of privilege will rest entirely with Addisons, which bears the onus of going through every document on that hard drive and persuading a court about what material should remain confidential.

Few would criticise the AFP for enforcing the Proceeds of Crime Act, but these raids reveal a terrible lack of perspective and poor procedural work.

That assessment is based on these facts: Seven says there never was a deal with Corby. The raids appear to have drawn a blank on that front, which supports Seven’s position.

Before the raids took place, Seven and Addisons had been complying with AFP production orders aimed at unearthing Corby-related material.

But that is being contested, and it is easy to see why. If Seven had been complying with orders seeking the production of Corby-related documents, why was it necessary to launch a raid of the type and scale that would be expected to be unleashed against a terrorist cell?

It needs to be kept in mind that the Proceeds of Crime Act results, at the most, in civil confiscation orders. Even if Seven paid millions to Corby, it would not be a criminal offence.

Was it really a rational use of police resources to send 34 officers charging around Sydney on a civil matter?

On Wednesday, AFP Commissioner Tony Negus came under pressure over statements he made during Monday’s Senate estimates hearing. This is just the beginning of what is likely to be a long debate on whether the raids were necessary.

Seven chief executive Tim Worner wrote to Negus disputing the accuracy of statements by the commissioner and his deputy, Michael Phelan.

Worner sought an assurance Negus would not repeat the contested statements. His letter says that on six occasions, Negus and Phelan told the hearing Seven had told the AFP it had no further documents.

“Seven disagrees that you have accurately represented or conveyed Seven’s response to the AFP,” the letter says.

“At no time did Seven or its representatives make an unqualified statement to the AFP that Seven had no further documents or words to that effect. Quite the opposite; Seven frankly admitted it was still searching for documents but said there were none in relation to its television programs that met the terms of the production order, and that there were no funds payable under its agreement with Mercedes Corby of February 7.

“I would appreciate your assurance that you will not make any further statement in any forum to the effect that Seven, or its solicitor, at any stage during the production order process has informed the AFP there are no further documents,” Worner says.

So what does the AFP have to say about this?

Asked if Negus would meet Worner’s request and whether he stood by the accuracy of what he said during the Senate hearing, an AFP spokesman said it was not appropriate to comment because the matter was subject to legal proceedings.

This aspect of the affair does not even figure in Seven’s Federal Court action. It is best described as a loaded weapon held in reserve.

The court action seeks to quash the search warrants that underpinned the raids on grounds closely linked to the AFP’s apology to Addisons partner Justine Munsie for raiding her firm using a court order that wrongly said she was suspected of an offence.

It seems there were others also named by the AFP.

“The search warrants were predicated on certain persons or entities being suspects when there was no evidence or other material to justify the decisions to issue the search warrants being made on that basis,” Seven says in its application for judicial review by the Federal Court.

It is already clear it was a mistake to remove the Director of Public Prosecutions from involvement when it comes to unleashing police raids based on the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Had the AFP been required to gain DPP approval before last week’s action, there is every likelihood the police might not have gone ahead.

And if the raids did go ahead, there would have been a greater prospect the DPP’s overview might have saved the AFP from having to apologise to Munsie for what the police, with astounding hide, referred to as a word-processing error.

The involvement of the DPP in this process ended years ago. It needs to be restored. And if that causes embarrassment to the AFP, that is one more part of the price that needs to be paid.
Every law firm and media outlet needs this assurance.

Originally published as Police set to pay for raids on Seven

Corby hits AFP with writ

27th February 2014

Schapelle Corby's sister Mercedes is suing the Australian Federal Police amid revelations that officers searched the office of her lawyer in Sydney on the same day as the AFP's botched raid on Seven West Media's headquarters.

Lawyers for Bali-based Ms Corby filed the paperwork in the Federal Court in Sydney yesterday.

It means the AFP now faces two legal challenges over last week's operation to uncover evidence of an interview deal Seven West was rumoured to have signed with Schapelle Corby over her Indonesian drug smuggling conviction.

This week Seven West launched its own action against the AFP over the unprecedented raid when more than 30 armed police spent 12 hours searching the company's headquarters and the offices of the Sunday Night program and Pacific Magazines.

Seven West, owner of The West Australian, said it was not connected with or aware of the basis of Mercedes Corby's action but it understood her solicitor was raided on the same day.

The company said the AFP had refused repeated requests to reveal the grounds on which it obtained its sear

Both matters are listed before the same judge in the Federal Court today.
Ms Corby's decision to sue comes as Seven West chief Tim Worner ratcheted up criticism of the AFP raids.

He has demanded a "correction and retraction" over what he said was untrue evidence the force's chief and his deputy gave under questioning in a parliamentary Senate estimates committee hearing on Monday.The pair claimed the raids were carried out after Seven West handed over documents covered by an initial production order but said no others existed, a statement the AFP believed was false.Mr Worner said these claims, used by Commissioner Tony Negus and his deputy Michael Phelan to repeatedly justify the raids, were contradicted by communications between Seven and the AFP."At no time did Seven or its representatives make an unqualified statement to the AFP that Seven had no further documents or words to that effect," Mr Worner wrote."Quite the opposite."He said Seven admitted it was still searching for documents but told the AFP there were none in relation to its shows that met the terms of the AFP's original order."In order to avoid any further misunderstanding or reporting of Seven's position, I would appreciate receiving your assurance that you will not make any further statement in any forum to the effect that Seven or its solicitor at any stage during the production order process has informed the AFP that 'there are no further documents'," he wrote.Seven West strongly criticised the raids on its offices, which were at a time the company said it was co-operating with AFP inquiries over its dealings with Schapelle Corby.

Neither Seven West nor Corby would be breaking the law if they signed a deal for her first post-prison interview.But the AFP could launch civil action to confiscate any proceeds Corby received.

AFP Raid: Seven accuses federal police of misrepresentation in Senate estimates

26th February 2014

Seven Network’s chief executive, Tim Worner, has written to the federal police commissioner, Tony Negus, rejecting key aspects of his testimony to senators this week justifying last week’s raid on the company’s offices.

In the letter on Wednesday, Worner said Negus had failed to “accurately represent or convey” the media company’s communications with the federal police in the lead up to the dramatic raid.

Up to 30 officers, some of them armed, stormed Seven offices in Sydney last Tuesday searching for proof of an exclusive deal between the network and Schapelle Corby. The convicted drug smuggler was released from prison in Indonesia this month.

Under questioning from senators on Monday, Negus said that on 14 February, Seven had responded to a production order demanding the company hand over to police any materials relating to a deal with Corby, which might later be the subject of a proceeds-of-crime order.

Seven were “very cooperative”, Negus said, and handed over documents by the 14 February deadline. “We were told that there was no more material in relation to where we were at.”

Federal police examined the documents over the weekend, before contacting Seven again on Monday, 17 February, Negus said.

“We wrote to Channel Seven on the Monday morning. We asked them to come back to us if there was more material. Later that afternoon [Seven’s solicitor] wrote to the AFP and said, ‘There is no more material from Channel Seven.’ In relation to some of the other areas, they were still providing some documentation.

“When the investigators looked at that, they were not satisfied that all the material had been provided.”

This suspicion, that not all the requested documents relating to the Corby deal had been provided to police, triggered the raid on Channel Seven and New Idea offices the next day.

But Worner on Wednesday questioned the accuracy of these claims. “At no time did Seven or its representatives make an unqualified statement to the AFP that Seven had no further documents or words to that effect,” he wrote.

“Quite the opposite; Seven frankly admitted that it was still searching for documents but said that there were none in relation to its television programs that met the terms of the production order.”

Federal police had also been made aware of the existence of an agreement with Schapelle Corby’s sister Mercedes, Worner said. He quoted from an email sent to police by Seven solicitors the day before the raid, saying the agreement with Mercedes Corby included “no funds to be paid”, and therefore fell outside the terms of the police production order.

He asked Negus to give an “assurance” that the claims would not be repeated.

A federal police spokesman said it was be inappropriate to comment, as the matter is subject to ongoing legal proceedings.

AFP taken in by Corby rumour

 

Steve Pennells Comment The West Australian

February 26, 2014, 9:16 am 

The Australian Federal Police still refuse to reveal the grounds under which they secured an unprecedented court order allowing it to raid Seven West Media's head office last week.

But it is becoming increasingly apparent that Australia's national force was taken in by the rumours that Seven had already signed a seven-figure deal with drug trafficker Schapelle Corby.

In the words of Seven West chief Tim Worner the agents believed what they read and were "no doubt shocked to discover the truth" that no agreement with Corby existed.

Seven has consistently denied that it had signed a deal with Corby or that any proposed deal was worth $2 million to $3 million.

But these rumours - started by Seven's bidding rivals and fuelled by schadenfreude - got widespread traction and were soon viewed as fact.

The same thing happened in Seven's recent dealings with convicted killer Simon Gittany's girlfriend, Rachelle Louise.

She was reported to have been paid $150,000 for the interviews with Seven's Sunday Night (she wasn't). It was also reported that Seven had banned her from attending Gittany's sentencing to keep its exclusive (it didn't).

And it was reported that Seven had signed up the rest of Gittany's family and barred them from speaking (It didn't and they weren't. They just didn't like the journalists outside the court).

The Gittany rumours were quoted as coming from "a source close to the bidding" (read: Channel 9, which conveniently failed to mention that it had tried to offer Ms Louise tens of thousands of dollars more than Seven for an interview).

The Corby rumours were similarly birthed in a media that delights in cannibalism. If you can't secure the interview, damage the rival that has.

That some news outlets perpetuated the lie is understandable, if not justified.

The fact the AFP believed it is mind-blowing.

The AFP's top two officers, Commissioner Tony Negus and his deputy, Michael Phelan, fronted a Senate committee hearing on Monday and tried to articulate why they believed more than 30 armed officers were needed to raid the headquarters of a company they concede had been co-operating with their investigation.

Senator Helen Kroger: Just to bring this back and put some perspective in it, I understand that you or your officers have acknowledged that it is not an offence to seek an interview with a convicted criminal.

Negus: That is absolutely correct.

Kroger: Or offer to pay, or even actually pay, money for an interview. Is that correct?

Negus: That is correct.

Kroger: And is it true ... that Seven West Media was "very co-operative with the production orders?

Phelan: In relation to that particular issue... Seven was very co-operative, and that is the case.

Mr Phelan said the AFP had been negotiating with Seven West for a week before the February 18 raid and the company had provided a raft of material covered by an initial production order the AFP had given it.

"So material was forthcoming, but in the end we were told that there was no more material in relation to where we were at," he said.
 
Mr Phelan said the AFP believed that Seven West hadn't handed everything over.

"We felt we had no choice given that we knew, based upon the information that we had, that further documentation existed to then do the search warrants the next day," he said.

The question that needs to be asked is: why didn't they simply ask for the documents he said were referenced in the paperwork that had been handed over?

By his own admission, Seven West was co-operating so surely there was a more civil way to proceed.
But instead, the AFP launched an unprecedented raid on SevenWest, which owns _The West Australian _, with a new search warrant which expanded the terms of the search.

Seven West handed over one additional document which was covered by the warrant's broader terms: an unsigned draft agreement.

After more than 12 hours searching the company's headquarters and the offices of Sunday Night and Pacific Magazines, they appear to have found no smoking gun.

So why did they believe there was one?

Mr Phelan said the reason the AFP had originally asked for production orders was because of "the view that we, like most other Australians, formed on the day Schapelle Corby was released on bail. She left the prison in the company of security guards and went to a luxury villa via limousine, etc, with Channel 7 employees there. It was reasonable for us to assume that an exclusive deal had been done with Channel 7."

Kroger: I must say I have a greater expectation of your need for evidence than a presumption that someone has paid for the circumstances in which, in this case, the Corby family had settled after she was out of jail. So, I think the high bar for the AFP should be much higher than what the rest of us think. I think that is an unfortunate choice of words - put it that way.

The fact that the AFP saw fit to mount an armed raid on the headquarters of a major Australian company and apparently justify it by falsely accusing one of that company's lawyers of committing a crime should be prompting a bigger furore than last week's botched operation has drawn.

Imagine the outrage if the raid had occurred at the offices of Fairfax, News Ltd or the ABC.
But the fallout has been muffled by the perennial debate over chequebook journalism and that the AFP's actions have led to the widespread public perception that Seven has committed a crime.

As the AFP has admitted, any decision by Seven to pay Corby for her story is not a crime.

And Corby is not committing a crime if she receives money for her story.

Once she is paid - if she is paid - it will be a civil matter and the AFP can apply to have that payment confiscated.

What other civil matter in Australia gets dealt with in a raid by more than 30 armed officers?
Yesterday, Seven West made good on its word to sue the AFP and applied for a Federal Court review of the reasons the warrants were issued.

"What we say is since the AFP retracted the allegation that our solicitor was suspected of a criminal offence, then please show us the real reasons you relied on," commercial director Bruce McWilliam said.

"Our request was refused. So we are going to court - firstly to find the reasons they relied on ... and second, if we obtain them, to get them reviewed by the Court to see if it was justified."

Steve Pennells reported on the Gittany story for Sunday Night

AFP raid: Police grilled by Senators over Corby related raid

25th February 2014
 To Listen here

Tony Negus

Michael Phelan

James Glenday

CHRIS UHLMANN: Some of the nation's top police officers have been grilled by politicians over last week's raids on Channel Seven.

Australian Federal Police officers told a Senate hearing they felt they had 'no choice' but to carry out the operation in an attempt to get more information about the TV network's negotiations with convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby.

Several senators repeatedly raised their concerns about the AFP's actions and an error it made on a document relating to the raid.

But the Attorney-General George Brandis says he has 'no criticism' of the police.

From Canberra, James Glenday reports.

JAMES GLENDAY: The case of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has captivated and concerned the nation, and late last night, the AFP's efforts to stop Ms Corby selling her story captivated and concerned Senators.

TONY NEGUS: We understand this is a difficult issue for Channel Seven, absolutely. Would they enjoy having police officers turn up at their doorstep and issue a search warrant? Absolutely not and I understand that.

JAMES GLENDAY: During an estimates hearing, police chief Tony Negus and one of his deputies, Michael Phelan faced a barrage of questions from Liberal Senator Helen Kroger about why they thought it necessary or appropriate to raid Channel Seven while it was in negotiations with the Corby family for an exclusive interview.

MICHAEL PHELAN: At the time there was a lot of material around, even from Channel Seven, around a deal being done.

HELEN KROGER: As there was with networks Ten, as there was with networks Nine.

MICHAEL PHELAN: Well those networks didn't have one of their major presenters sitting in the same villa.

JAMES GLENDAY: The officers argued Schapelle Corby's luxury villa was enough to give the impression a deal was close

They say Channel Seven was 'helpful' during negotiations and at handing over information, but commissioner Negus says his staff thought there were documents missing that they needed.

His explanation for carrying out the raid clearly annoyed independent Senator Nick Xenophon.

TONY NEGUS: They went to a magistrate; they convicted a magistrate, based on information…

NICK XENEOPHON: Because you suspected they were going to destroy documents. That's an outrageous assertion on your part.

TONY NEGUS: No, I've made no such assertion.

JAMES GLENDAY: The AFP said it had to act quickly, because in the past it had struggled to seize money paid to the Corby family for a book deal.

MICHAEL PHELAN: Over a quarter of a million of dollars went offshore and was lost to the jurisdiction.

JAMES GLENDAY: The officers say they're still waiting to find out exactly what information is in the documents they seized, and insisted a mistake on a document related to the raid didn't affect the AFP's right to carry out the operation.

Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan wanted to know why the officers were carrying weapons.

BILL HEFFERNAN: I mean it's very confronting if you're a pregnant woman walking down the bloody aisle and here comes a copper with his gun hanging out.

JAMES GLENDAY: The conduct of AFP officers is being investigated.

Labor Senator Sam Dastyari asked the Attorney-General George Brandis what he thought.

SAM DASTYARI: In your opinion, did the AFP act appropriately?

GEORGE BRANDIS: I have no criticism to offer of the AFP. I have complete confidence in the AFP and I don't comment on operational matters.

CHRIS UHLMANN: The Attorney-General George Brandis, ending that report from James Glenday.
We understand this is a difficult issue for Channel Seven, absolutely. Would they enjoy having police officers turn up at their doorstep and issue a search warrant? Absolutely not and I understand that.

Senator attacks AFP over Seven raid

25th February 2014

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus has defended his officers' raid on Seven West Media last week, saying he did not believe the company had fully complied with orders to produce documents about its dealings with Schapelle Corby.

But Independent Senator Nick Xenophon accused Mr Negus last night of making an "outrageous assertion" that Seven would conceal, lose or destroy documents to stymie police investigations.
The AFP carried out raids on several of Seven's Sydney premises last Tuesday in the belief that the media company had struck an agreement to conduct a paid interview with Corby, a convicted drug trafficker.

Seven West Media, the owner of _The West Australian _, has confirmed it had been negotiating with Corby since her release from a Bali jail on February 10 but insists no agreement has been reached.
In a sometimes testy hearing before a Senate committee yesterday, Mr Negus conceded that AFP paperwork provided to a magistrate to secure a search warrant on Seven's premises in Sydney had wrongly accused the media company's lawyer of committing a crime.

But he said the "typographical error", while of a concern to him, had not influenced the magistrate's decision to grant the search warrant because it featured in a document separate to the affidavit.
The company yesterday lodged documents in the Federal Court to have the search warrant set aside in light of the AFP admitting it had made mistakes in its paperwork.

Asked by Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan if, in his "professional judgment", he believed that Seven had complied with two previous orders to produce relevant documents, Mr Negus said: "No, not completely, senator. No."

Under questioning by Senator Xenophon, Mr Negus said AFP investigators "suspected on reasonable grounds" that Seven had not surrendered all relevant documents.

"So that was a judgment call that the AFP made, that they suspected that Seven West Media, a major public company, was going to be involved in the concealment, loss or destruction of documents," Senator Xenophon asked Mr Negus. "That's an outrageous assertion."

Mr Negus said: "I've made no such assertion. This organisation prides itself on achieving the highest standards of probity and high standards of professionalism. An error was made in this which is of great concern to me … but that does not, on our best advice, invalidate the warrant."

In a statement last night, Seven West Media said: "Seven is concerned at the ducking and diving in tonight's Senate estimates in response to questions.

"In effectively saying that Seven hadn't adequately produced documents in response to the production orders, the commissioner and his deputy misquotes or ignores our lawyer's fulsome response in which she was very specific when she told them: 'All documents in response to the production order so far as they relate to Seven's television programs have been produced. In response to your query regarding the February 7 agreement headed "Mercedes Corby Exclusivity Agreement", there are no funds to be paid except for the matters referred to in the agreement. Accordingly, no such documents have been produced. The search warrant, which elicited the draft, was wider in its terms. The production order only sought actual agreements'."

Heat on AFP over raid bungle

Andrew Tillett and Andrew Probyn Canberra The West Australian
February 24, 2014, 5:26 am

The Australian Federal Police will come under fire on two fronts today over its botched raid on Seven West Media's offices in Sydney last week.

The raid sought evidence of a financial deal between Seven West Media, owner of _The West Australian _, and drug smuggler Schapelle Corby for an interview.

The company confirmed talks with the Corby family but insists there was no agreement.

As AFP Commissioner Tony Negus faces a grilling tonight from senators, the company will ask the Federal Court to order police to reveal the legal grounds they used to get a search warrant.

The AFP is red-faced after admitting it falsely claimed a Seven West Media lawyer was a crime suspect in an affidavit submitted to a magistrate.

But the police insist their legal advice is that the bungle did not invalidate the warrant.

The company will file papers today seeking a judicial review into the reasons the AFP gave Magistrate Graeme Curran when applying for the search warrant.

It will argue the AFP's expected claim to confidentiality should be waived and the warrant set aside.

Seven's commercial director Bruce McWilliam said, given the police acknowledged the matter was akin to civil litigation, the AFP should have simply served a production order for documents.

A Senate estimates committee will push Mr Negus tonight on the justification for the raids.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon has labelled the raids "overkill" and other senators are baffled by the AFP's actions.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott also expressed his concern. "My understanding is that the Attorney has issued a polite 'please explain' to the AFP, but the matter itself was an operational policing matter," he said.

On Saturday, AFP Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan apologised for the document error and said Seven had not committed a crime by seeking the interview. The senior officer who made the mistake had been "counselled".

Mr Phelan said the error was from using a "pro forma" document from another case and the reference to a criminal matter should have been omitted.

Schapelle Corby interview: AFP reveals 'error' in document related to raids on Channel Seven offices

 

22nd February 2014

ABC

The Australian Federal Police says it made a mistake in accusing a lawyer for Channel Seven of a crime as part of a probe into the network's suspected lucrative interview deal with drug smuggler Schapelle Corby.

The error was made in applying for an order which would support warrants to raid the network's Sydney offices.

Armed police raided the offices on Tuesday amid reports Seven had paid Corby several million dollars for an exclusive interview.

Australia has proceeds of crime legislation to ensure criminals do not profit from their crimes.

On Friday, the AFP wrote to Channel Seven's legal representatives, saying it was incorrect to state the lawyers could be suspected of having committed the offence stated in the relevant warrant.

It says the order was issued under Section 246 of the Proceeds of Crime Act.

"The letter refers to the Section 246 Order, which is addressed to 'Justine Munsie or any other employee, Addison lawyers' and states that the issuing Magistrate, His Honour Magistrate Graeme Curran, is satisfied that 'you are reasonably suspected of having committed the offence stated in the relevant warrant'," the AFP said.

"The AFP accepts that this statement was incorrect and it should not have been made. It is a regrettable error, but an innocent word-processing error."

AFP deputy commissioner of operations Michael Phelan says an application form police used was copied from one relating to a different case, but a paragraph that referred to a criminal offence was not deleted.

The AFP says it regrets any "hurt, embarrassment or offence which this error has caused".

"This regrettable error does not invalidate the search warrants, or the order itself," it added.

Seven has previously said it was complying with an order to produce documents under the Proceeds of Crime Act, issued by the AFP on February 11.

Channel Seven has been calling for a full apology for the raids.

It's not a crime to negotiate with a criminal, to do an interview - and it's not a crime to pay a criminal for an interview.

Bruce McWilliams

Its commercial director, Bruce McWilliam, has also defended the network's right to negotiate with Corby.

"It's not a crime to negotiate with a criminal to do an interview - and it's not a crime to pay a criminal for an interview. Everyone should be quite aware of that," he said.

"The only crime, the only thing that the act permits is that the government can seize any proceeds paid."

Police admit Seven committed no offence by seeking Corby interview

Channel Seven had not committed a criminal offence in pursuing an exclusive interview with Schapelle Corby, but the Australian Federal Police was determined to ensure the convicted criminal did not benefit from her notoriety, deputy commissioner of operations Michael Phelan said today.

At a press conference, Phelan apologised for an error in the search warrant issued for a raid on Seven on Tuesday but said although it was regrettable it did not invalidate the warrant or the Corby investigation.

“We’re quite happy for Channel Seven to do an interview, but Schapelle Corby can’t benefit at all,” Phelan said.

After days of a war of words between the leading commercial TV network and the AFP, the commissioner held a lengthy press conference in Canberra to try and take the heat out of the situation before Senate Estimates next week.

The press conference was announced on Friday night after the attorney general, George Brandis, expressed concern about “how this appeared to have been handled” and said he was “seeking to establish how this error was apparently made by the AFP”.

The fury of the network over the raids extended right up to the chairman of Seven West Media, Kerry Stokes, who threatened the government he was unlikely to sit for another term on the Australian War Memorial council because of the treatment of his business by the AFP.

In an email obtained by Guardian Australia earlier on Friday, the commercial director of Seven, Bruce McWilliam, pleaded with Senator Brandis to “get involved” and “demand some accountability from the AFP” about their “crack-handed tactics” [sic] in raiding the network.

“Over 30 armed officers des patched [sic]. Why were they armed. Did they fear that the office staff would attack them with staplers? Is this a complete schemmozzle [sic]?” McWilliam wrote.

“We have people here swearing affidavits that criminal offences have been committed. Convincing magistrates to sign search warrants etc. against a public company and its reputable lawyers. Where does this stop?”

Seven has insisted that it has not paid the Corby family for an interview. Schapelle’s sister, Mercedes Corby, says Schapelle chose Seven’s Mike Willessee because she trusted him to tell the truth.

Phelan said: “To suggest that such a deal had been done without any consideration of any money is ludicrous and I think the Australian public knows that that’s not true.”

McWilliam has said an amount of about $500,000 had been discussed with the Corbys but nothing had been signed or agreed to.

The chief executive of Seven West Media, Tim Worner, welcomed the apology from Phelan and said he awaited the results of the AFP’s investigation into the matter.

“We take our role as a media company seriously,” Worner said on Saturday. “We will pursue news.
“We can confirm that reports of $2m or $3m offers for an interview with Schapelle Corby are complete and utter baloney. It is a falsehood. There is no deal now and there has never been any such deal.”

Phelan said if the investigation uncovered any evidence of a payment to her or her family and if Corby benefited “directly or indirectly”, the money would be seized by the Commonwealth.

He explained that the day Corby was released from Kerobokan prison in Bali police were watching the intense media interest closely. He said the fact that she was whisked away in a black limousine to an exclusive villa with just one media outlet indicated “an exclusive deal had been done” and that any deal was going to be “a little bit more than $50,000”.

This was what motivated the AFP to ask Seven for any documents about the perceived deal.
However, he admitted the AFP had not yet uncovered any direct evidence to take action under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The commissioner said Seven was co-operative and “did produce a number of documents on time pursuant to those requests and we were told that was all there was”, however the police believed there were more.

“It was quite clear from our investigation on the Monday evening that not all the relevant material had been produced pursuant to the order,” he said.

“So in order to try and secure that evidence we made a decision to execute search warrants on Channel Seven.”

During the search of five Seven West Media properties in Sydney, some documents they were looking for were indeed uncovered, he said. However, the chief executive of Seven, Tim Worner, said it was an “unsigned agreement for a deal never consummated”.

The AFP administrative error is now the subject of a professional standards investigation.

Corby raid: Police apologise after falsely accusing Seven lawyer

 

21st February 2014 

Attorney general George Brandis seeks explanation after AFP admits to embarrassing error in warrant paperwork.

The Australian Federal Police has admitted it falsely accused a senior lawyer of committing an offence in an order associated with the warrant to search Seven West Media offices over a potential Schapelle Corby interview.

The attorney general, George Brandis, raised concerns about the federal police’s handling of the matter and said he would ask for an explanation.

The federal police has blamed an “innocent word-processing error” for the incorrect claim made about a lawyer acting for Seven, which was raided on Tuesday following allegations it had struck a deal with Corby for an interview after she was released from a Bali jail on parole.

The claim related to section 246 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which says an officer may apply to a magistrate for an order requiring a specified person to provide any information or assistance regarding the accessing of data.

This may be sought if the person is “reasonably suspected of possessing, or having under his or her control, tainted property or evidential material” or is the owner of the computer and has knowledge of the computer network or data storage methods.

After the raid, Seven’s representatives wrote to the AFP to complain that the lawyer, Justine Munsie, had been accused of an offence relating to the warrant paperwork. 

In a letter to Seven’s legal representatives on Friday, the federal police admitted it had made a false claim.

“As you have noted, the section 246 order addressed to ‘Justine Munsie or any other employee, Addisons Lawyers’ states that the issuing magistrate, his honour Magistrate Graeme Curran, is satisfied that ‘you are reasonably suspected of having committed the offence stated in the relevant warrant...’,” the letter says.

“We accept that this statement was incorrect and it should not have been made. It is a regrettable error, but it is an innocent word-processing error.

“The commissioner and the Australian Federal Police regret any hurt, embarrassment or offence which this error has caused.”

The letter says a federal agent made clear to Munsie during the raid on Tuesday that “she was not suspected of any offence”.

It says the only reference to any offence having been committed, in the separate section 225 search warrant, was “the indictable offence for which Ms Corby has been convicted”. Corby was convicted in 2005 of attempting to smuggle more than 4kg of cannabis into Bali.

Media reports claimed she stood to gain as much as $3m for an exclusive interview to tell her story, but Seven sources maintained that no deal had been concluded and the speculated figures were excessive.

A federal police spokesman said on Friday that the “regrettable error” in the section 246 order did not invalidate the search warrants or the order itself.

He said a section 246 order was “a supplementary document which can be used in conjunction with a warrant to provide additional technical support to the warrant holder”.

But Australia’s first law officer expressed his concerns.

“This is a police operation and quite properly a matter for the AFP,” Brandis said. “However, I am concerned about how this appeared to have been handled and I will be seeking to establish how this error was apparently made by the AFP.”

The raids on Tuesday prompted a furious response from Seven executives, who insisted the company had complied with requests to produce documents and described police actions as “overkill”.

The independent South Australian senator, Nick Xenophon, said he would ask the federal police about the issues during Senate estimates hearings next week.

“This is a very serious matter. To falsely accuse a legal practitioner seems to be absolutely shocking,” Xenophon said on Friday night.

“This latest revelation is really building the case for an independent inquiry into what the AFP did … This makes the Keystone Cops look competent in comparison.”

The federal police letter defends the legitimacy of the search warrant.

“There is no reference to any offence or any suspicion of any offence having been committed in the material before Magistrate Curran in support of the application for the warrant,” the letter says.

“In these circumstances, we do not think there can be any real suggestion that a reasonable person would think that it was alleged that Ms Munsie was suspected of having committed an offence.”

Indonesian authorities have raised concern about a possible interview, raising the prospect of Corby potentially having her parole revoked and returning to prison.

Australia’s Proceeds of Crime Act aims to prevent people from gaining a financial benefit from their crimes, or commercially exploiting their notoriety from having committed offences.

The treasurer, Joe Hockey, said on Wednesday that he supported the federal police, while the communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, rejected claims he had offered Seven West an apology.

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, declined to comment on Wednesday, saying politicians would be smarter to “stay out of the police investigation”

Schapelle Corby TV interview decision ruling to be made public

21st February 2014 

INDONESIA’S Deputy Justice Minister is expected to make a statement today in Jakarta about repeated attempts by the Corby clan to get permission for her post-jail interview. 
 
The office of Denny Indrayana says the deputy will address the media in the wake of a last-ditch dash to Jakarta by Mercedes Corby and her husband Wayan Widyartha in a bid to get the ministry to agree.
Mercedes and Wayan flew to Jakarta from Bali yesterday in bid to meet Mr Indrayana to discuss the interview, which so far he and all justice officials have denied them.

Their Jakarta dash followed a similar meeting earlier in the week with Bali parole board chief Ketut Artha who says he told them it was “impossible” for him to agree for an interview to go ahead.
He said his career was on the line and that the message from Jakarta and the Justice Minister, first conveyed a week ago, was clear.

Mr Artha said the Corby clan had been told there could no interview or that Corby faces being thrown back in jail in breach of her parole conditions.

“I have repeatedly conveyed to him (Wayan Widyartha) that it is impossible for me to allow the interview,” Mr Artha told News Corp yesterday.

Mr Artha said that Mr Widyartha had responded that he would ask the Justice Ministry in Bali.
“Then I told him, please do it. But it will impossible for you to get it (permission),” he said.

Mr Artha said that Mr Widyartha had brought him a letter seeking permission for the interview.

But after a meeting of the Justice Ministry in Bali yesterday, Mr Artha’s superiors instructed him to write a new letter to the Corbys, again warning them off from any media interviews.

Corby and her family have now been holed up in a Seminyak villa, with a crew from Channel 7’s Sunday Night program, for 12 days since her release from Kerobokan jail on February 10.

Earlier this week the program’s veteran reporter Mike Willesee said he remained optimistic the interview would go ahead and that Corby herself was ready to tell her story.

But it’s a story that Jakarta does not want told and they have repeatedly warned the family that an interview could see Corby sent straight back to jail.

Under her parole conditions, anything she does which could cause unease, restlessness and polemic in the community could be considered a breach of parole.

The Indonesian Government has been under fire domestically for granting Corby parole and political debate has raged as the country prepares for parliamentary elections in April.

At the height of the debate, in the days following Corby’s well-publicised chaotic release from jail, the Deputy Justice Minister made a special trip to Bali to — deliver the warning – no interview or go back to jail for causing polemic.

Schapelle Corby's sister, brother-in-law rebuffed in bid for permission for TV interview

21st February 2014
Bachelard

 

Amir Syamsuddin: The Justice, Law and Human Rights Minister refused to meet Schapelle Corby's sister Mercedes and brother-in-law Wayan Widyartha. Photo: Michael Bachelard

Schapelle Corby's sister Mercedes and brother-in-law Wayan Widyartha have travelled to Jakarta to plead with Indonesia's Justice Minister to be allowed to do an interview but once again they have been rebuffed.

The pair visited the ministry on Thursday but Justice, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin refused to meet them.

Then, on Friday, he rejected their plea to be allowed to do an interview.

Mr Amir said on Friday that the Indonesian government's position remained that no interview should take place.

“It would be good if [Corby] realises her status as a convict,” Mr Amir said on Friday.

“[She is] a convict whose parole was granted, but it was given under certain conditions, one of which is she … does not create restlessness within the society.”

After being knocked back for a meeting with Mr Amir, the Corby family submitted a four-page letter asking him to reconsider.

“Whatever letter was submitted, Corby must realise that the coverage about her has become a really big thing,” Mr Amir said.

“It would be good if she realised, and her own family realised, that they should not let [Bali's parole board] Bapas conclude that the condition to revoke the parole has been fulfilled because there is restlessness.”

The rebuff comes on top of a similar comment by Ketut Artha, the head of Bapas.

Mr Ketut has said he feels his job is “at stake” if he allows the interview to go ahead.

However, the family has refused to stop lobbying as Corby remained late on Friday holed up in a Bali villa compound with a crew from the Seven Network's Sunday Night program.

It is understood they would consent to having an Indonesian government representative in the room with them during the interview, and that Corby would try to steer away from any content that could be deemed to cause “restlessness”.

AFP apologises to Seven following Schapelle Corby raids

21st February 2014
by Jake Mitchell

The Australian Federal Police have issued an apology to Seven West Media for stating a legal representative of the broadcaster had been "reasonably suspected" of committing a crime, though the government agency described the incident as a "word processing error".

 

The AFP raided the Sydney offices of Seven on Tuesday due to speculation the network had paid 

convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby for an interview. Photo: Ben Rushton

The AFP raided the Sydney offices of Seven on Tuesday due to speculation the network had paid convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby $2 million for an interview.

Seven had been issued with a production order to hand over documents to the AFP the previous week in accordance with the Proceeds of Crime Act, which prevents people profiting from crimes.

The AFP obtained a search warrant from Magistrate Graeme Curran on the basis of an application that stated, among other things, to Seven lawyer Justine Munsie: "You (Ms Munsie) are reasonably suspected of having committed the offence stated in the relevant warrant.

In a letter written to Seven lawyers, obtained by The Australian Financial Review, the AFP said: "We accept that this statement was incorrect and it should not have been made."

"It is a regrettable error, but it is an innocent word-processing error. The Commissioner and the Australian Federal Police regret any hurt, embarrassment or offence which this error has caused."

Seven had threatened to launch legal action if an apology was not issued by 5pm on Friday, as well as asking the AFP to revoke the order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The AFP said it would not revoke the order and that it was obvious the agency had never suspected Ms Munsie of a crime because the only reference to any offence being committed in the search warrant was to Ms Corby's crime of drug smuggling.

"There is no reference to any offence or any suspicion of any offence having been committed in the material before Magistrate Curran in support of an application for the warrant," wrote the AFP in its letter. "In these circumstances, we do not think there can be any real suggestion that a reasonable person would think that it was alleged that Ms Munsie was suspected of having committed an offence."

Seven declined to comment while comment is being sought from the AFP.

Seven and its lawyers plot counterattack after AFP raid

 

 February 21, 2014 12:00AM

ON the facts that have come to light, the decision to send 34 federal police into the offices of Seven West Media is beginning to look like over-reach.

    •    As well as marching into the offices of the broadcaster and publisher, the Australian Federal Police also visited the offices of Seven West’s Sydney lawyers, Addisons.

    •    Seven is furious and has hit back with a legal strategy that could soon have the AFP in the Federal Court explaining itself to a judge.

    •    The raids, which took place on Tuesday, were aimed at enforcing the Proceeds of Crime Act in relation to a rumoured $2 million interview deal with convicted drug-smuggler Schapelle Corby.

    •    They seem to have elicited one relevant document - an unsigned agreement with the Corby family that Seven says was never consummated. No contract with Schapelle Corby was found.

    •    The police took away a sealed computer hard-drive that is the subject of an unresolved claim of client legal privilege.

    •    Seven has asserted that it has not done a deal with Corby and the raids were not necessary because it was already complying with AFP orders to produce documents. The AFP disagrees and believes it had not been receiving everything it wanted.

    •    After the shock of the raids subsided, Seven and its lawyers put together a plan to attack what they believe is the flawed legal basis for the raids.

    •    If they succeed, it could expose the AFP to accusations that it misled a court with an affidavit that, Seven believes, makes unjustified and adverse statements about a prominent Sydney lawyer.

    •    That lawyer is Justine Munsie of Addisons, who has been dealing with the AFP’s production orders for Seven.

    •    The AFP officers who raided her firm came equipped with an order under section 246 of the Proceeds of Crime Act that requires those with knowledge of the law firm’s computer system to help the AFP obtain data.

    •    The order says “you are reasonably suspected of having committed the offence stated in the relevant warrant ... “

    •    Munsie is among those who have been selected by Chambers and Partners for inclusion in its guide to the nation’s best lawyers. She is one of the few media specialists who have been included in the rankings that appear on this page.

    •    On Wednesday, another law firm joined the fray when Atanaskovic Hartnell wrote to AFP officer Jeffrey Kokles on behalf of Seven, Addisons and Munsie seeking access to all the documents that the AFP relied upon when seeking orders under section 246. That letter asks Kokles to correct any court or registry record “and make it clear that there is no suspicion (or any proper basis for a suspicion) that Ms Munsie and/or Addisons had committed any offence”.

    •    Atanaskovic Hartnell has given Kokles until 5pm AEDT today to comply with its request.

    •    If nothing happens, the next step is to seek an order for certiorari in the Federal Court and the eventual quashing of the section 246 orders.

    •    If that proves successful, it would clear the way for the final step: Seven and Munsie would be able to launch separate proceedings in which Seven would seek damages for injurious falsehood and Munsie would be expected to seek compensation.

    •    The key issue in this rapidly expanding legal war is likely to be the way in which Munsie responded to the AFP’s orders.

    •    If the AFP’s documentation asserts that Seven’s co-operation was inadequate, Munsie’s records of what happened will be crucial.

Australian Federal Police wastes time and money on Channel 7 and New Idea raids

•    Staff writers
    •    The Courier-Mail
    •    February 20, 2014 12:00AM

THE Australian Federal Police are the nation’s first line of defence and investigation for major crime that can often cross international borders.

The AFP is a well-funded, $1.3 billion a year force tasked with combating everything from terrorism to money laundering, people trafficking, drug smuggling, serious fraud and cybercrime. It is far from some provincial Keystone Cops outfit, and maintains a sophisticated global network that co-ordinates with other law enforcement agencies to fight organised crime and security threats across the world.

If Australia is facing a terror alert it is the AFP and other frontline national security agencies such as ASIO that are tasked with uncovering and neutralising any plot.

Given this brief, the heavy-handed raids this week on media outlets that have reportedly agreed to pay convicted Bali drug smuggler Schapelle Corby for her story simply beggar belief.

Armed police executed search warrants on the headquarters of Channel 7 in Sydney and other associated premises including the offices of New Idea, a subsidiary of Seven West Media offshoot Pacific Magazines. Reports put the number of AFP officers involved in the raids at up to 40 – all charged with looking for evidence of a deal the Corby family reportedly signed on behalf of Schapelle for her first post-prison interview with Seven’s current affairs flagship program, Sunday Night.

Australian Federal Police officers raid the Channel 7 office at Eveleigh in Sydney in relation to a Schapelle Corby interview.

The AFP defended the raids as being an operation in relation to the Proceeds of Crime Act, which provides for the restraint and forfeiture of the proceeds of crime against Australian law.

“This includes,” the AFP argued in a brief statement, “provisions for literary proceeds, where a person profits from their criminal notoriety.

“Literary proceeds action does not prevent a person from telling his or her story to the media. The provisions do not interfere with freedom of speech.”

That is a moot point when dozens of law enforcement officers descend on the offices of a media organisation and start scouring both corporate and news records in what appears to be a fishing expedition of hugely expensive and intimidating proportions. The apparent churlish and aggressive nature of the raids resulted in the staff of one of this country’s main news-gathering organisations being warned quite bluntly that filming the event may amount to some form of “hindrance”.

As Seven Network chief Tim Warner says, this is “quite possibly unprecedented for a media organisation”.

Regardless of any precedent, and indeed the implicit threat to a free and independent media in this country, mass raids more suited to rooting out a major threat to national security must surely have most reasonable Australians asking whether this overkill is not a flagrant waste of resources.

If there is a legal issue with any payments made to the Corby family – a fact disputed by Seven – then so be it, and let justice take its course. Surely, though, such matters can be resolved without dozens of our country’s premier police tied up rummaging through files relating to a very current (and non-security threatening) news story?

Is it any wonder that state jurisdictions such as Queensland have had to resort to extraordinary legislative measures to combat the threat of criminal bikie gangs, when our leading organised crime-fighting body seems more interested in throwing resources at discovering whether a media interview with a woman let out of prison in a country 5000km away might have been paid for?

For ordinary Australians worried about the access our children have to drugs on our streets or the seeds of corruption that may exist in some major institutions, this week’s blitzkrieg by the AFP smacks of misdirected excess and waste.

It is more indicative of an organisation with skewed priorities that should be focusing its time and manpower on the big threats, not the reported circumstances of a media interview with a small-time drug smuggler living in another country.

Seven accuses police of overkill after raid over Schapelle Corby ties

Seven Network has accused police of overkill for dispatching 30 officers and eight squad cars to search its Sydney premises as part of an investigation into proceeds of crime derived by Schapelle Corby.

After a dramatic day which saw police swarm Seven properties across Sydney searching for proof Schapelle Corby had been paid for an interview, Seven West Media boss Tim Worner said that the police action had come as a total surprise because the Seven had cooperated with the inquiry fully.

“A raid on our offices at Pyrmont and at Pacific Magazines and at our lawyers’ offices involving around 30 police and eight squad cars to find information we have already provided seems like overkill to say the least,” he said.

“But what is most disturbing is to also seek to use search warrants to access all of our news and corporate records.

“This is without justification and quite possibly unprecedented for a media organization. We see any interference in fair reporting and newsgathering as regrettable.”

The raid on Seven’s office in Pyrmont and the headquarters of New Idea magazine in Eveleigh began at 8.55am on Tuesday.

Seven’s Sunday Night program is believed to have secured an interview with the high-profile Australian former prisoner, who was released from Bali’s Kerobokan prison last week after serving nine years for smuggling marijuana.

Seven West’s New Idea magazine is also thought to be involved in the deal. Commercial director Bruce McWilliam said the office of New Idea editor, Kim Wilson, was searched by police.

“The federal police … barged in wanting to look at the payment registers, which is completely outrageous,’’ the Seven West commercial director, Bruce McWilliam, told The Australian newspaper.

“It’s a big attack on the press. It’s terrible what’s happening.

“It’s a gross overreaction. The government has called to say they did not know this was happening.”

The fee for the Corby interview has been reported to be as high as $3m, but this figure has been disputed by the Corby family and Seven West.

“[The fee] probably falls far short of what someone in the federal police imagines it should say. It’s a very small figure,” McWilliam said.

Worner said that the AFP did not seem to accept that Seven had not reached an agreement or understanding with Corby.

McWilliam also revealed that the network had been served with a proceeds of crime production order relating to the deal which, he said, had been fully co-operated with.

“Full compliance has occurred. Documents were handed over immediately,’’ McWilliam said.

“You’ve got some heavy-handed goon who thinks they can just come storming in and terrorise people who are trying to carry on their duties.

“We’ve given them everything we have. We don’t think it was what they were expecting to see, so they think we’re not co-operating with the order.”

He suggested that police might remain at Seven West’s office for up to 24 hours.

Federal police confirmed the raid. “The AFP can confirm it has executed a number of search warrants in Sydney in relation to an ongoing Proceeds of Crime Act matter,” a spokesman said.

“As this matter is ongoing, it is not appropriate for the AFP to comment any further.”

Since 2003 federal authorities have had the power to confiscate literary funds derived from criminal activities.

Queensland’s attorney general, Jarrod Bleijie, conceded on Friday that the Queensland state government would be powerless to confiscate any money Corby earned from selling her story.

“Following legal advice, the state is not in a position to pursue the matter further but we would provide any support to the federal government if it was able and chose to do so,” Bleijie said.

Indonesian authorities have warned Corby it would be “stupid” to speak to the media, suggesting any interviews could see her parole revoked.

Corby family has not signed exclusive deal for interview, says Seven network

‘Ballpark’ offer was $500,000 but ‘all you’ve got is a whole lot of failed negotiations’

The Seven network has denied it has an agreement for an exclusive interview with Schapelle Corby’s family after federal police raided its offices in Sydney as part of an investigation into proceeds of crime.

The network’s commercial director, Bruce McWilliam, said the Corby family had declined to sign documents sent to them to secure a deal.

“The actual fact is there isn’t an agreement reached yet,” McWilliam said after the raid on Tuesday morning.

“All you’ve got is a whole lot of failed negotiations, effectively. There were attempts at sending stuff to sign but they never ended up signing them.”

A Seven source said the Corby family had declined to sign any financial agreement with Seven because they were “concerned about the proceeds of crime legislation”.

Seven sources say the ballpark figure offered to the Corbys was less than $500,000 for an exclusive Sunday Night TV and New Idea magazine interview with Schapelle Corby but no money ever changed hands.

The $2m to $3m figure was media speculation fuelled by rival networks, sources said.

More than 20 federal police officers stormed the Seven Network’s offices at Jones Bay, Pyrmont, at 8.55am on Tuesday as part of an investigation into proceeds of crime derived by Corby.

Officers also raided the headquarters of New Idea magazine in Eveleigh.

The police got the location of Sunday Night’s production offices wrong and turned up at an old address in Paddington, a staffer said.

They were believed to be heading to Martin Place to search the Seven offices there too.

McWilliam told Guardian Australia that last week the AFP served a standard production order under the Proceeds of Crime Act. “We, through our solicitors, gave them all the documents they asked for in response to their order,” he said.

“Then they asked for some other stuff that wasn’t in their notice and we gave them that as well.

“We have given them all the documents. They served a production order on us and they don’t believe we have given them all the documents. I think that’s the thrust of it.”

Seven News filmed the raid despite police asking them to put the cameras down. McWilliam can be seen talking to the officers in the footage.

Speaking to Guardian Australia as the police searched his computer, McWilliam said: “Now they are coming in to look through the accounts payment register and everything else to see where the missing $3m is.

“We never agreed to pay anything like $3m. It’s a massive exaggeration. You could buy the whole Schapelle Corby documentary for less than that.

“Over 20 of them turned up today. They are in my office now. I didn’t even have a chance to tidy it up. I asked them if I could tidy up and they didn’t like it at all.”

McWilliam confirmed he had called a cabinet minister but said it was not true that the government had apologised for the raid, as reported.

The minister’s office “didn’t actually apologise”. “The reaction was ‘We are sorry this happened’ rather than we hereby apologise.

“I feel they have acted very aggressively and unnecessarily,” McWilliam said.

The federal police confirmed the raid. “The AFP can confirm it has executed a number of search warrants in Sydney in relation to an ongoing Proceeds of Crime Act matter,” a spokesman said.

“As this matter is ongoing, it is not appropriate for the AFP to comment any further.”

Since 2003, federal authorities have had the power to confiscate literary funds derived from criminal activities.

Queensland’s attorney general, Jarrod Bleijie, conceded on Friday that the Queensland state government would be powerless to confiscate any money Corby earned from selling her story.

“Following legal advice, the state is not in a position to pursue the matter further but we would provide any support to the federal government if it was able and chose to do so,” Bleijie said.

Indonesian authorities have warned Corby it would be “stupid” to speak to the media, suggesting any interviews could see her parole revoked.

A spokesman for the attorney general, George Brandis, said: “The government was advised this morning that the AFP has executed a number of search warrants in Sydney in relation to an ongoing Proceeds of Crime Act investigation. The decision was made independently of government. As this investigation is ongoing, it is not appropriate to comment further.”

Veteran Seven journalist Mike Willesee, who was set to interview Corby in Bali, has also said the amount she was offered was far less than the reported $2m.

“The first thing I want to say about the Australian federal police raid is that it will finally nail the lie of the $2m payment that’s been repeated and repeated in the Australian media,” Willesee reportedly said after the raid on Tuesday.

Mike Willesee still hopeful Schapelle Corby interview will go ahead

18th February 2014

EVEN as AFP officers were raiding Channel Seven offices thousands of kilometres away, veteran journalist Mike Willesee remained “hopeful” an interview with Schapelle Corby would go ahead. 

 

“I’m optimistic and certainly hopeful but there are a lot of balls in the air,” he said outside the villa in Bali where Corby is staying.

Willesee said the AFP raid would fail to uncover evidence of a payment to Corby as “there is no deal”.

However he refused to rule out her being paid after the interview.

“I don’t have to deny anything,” he said. “All I know is that there has been no payment.

“We have, through a lot of hard work, positioned ourselves so that if there is an interview we are first in line. I’m optimistic and hopeful (it will go ahead).”

“The interview will take place when the Corby family are ready and when the Indonesians are ready. We are guests in their country and we’re going to be very cognisant of what their needs are,” he said.

“We’d be very careful in an interview to see that we didn’t breach any understanding that we have with the Indonesian authorities.

“We’re going to very respectful of that.”

However, Willesee clarified that neither he nor Channel Seven had any agreement with the Indonesian authorities.

He also said there is no limit on how long Seven would wait in Bali for the interview.

Original article

Police raid Channel Seven over Schapelle Corby interview

18th February 2014

By Rachel Olding, Nick Ralston, Michael Bachelard, Amilia Rosa

Channel Seven boss rattled by raid

'A complete overreaction' is how Seven's emotional commercial director, Bruce McWilliam describes Tuesday's AFP raid on the network's Sydney offices in relation to a Schapelle Corby interview.

The Australian Federal Police raid on Channel Seven's Sydney office "will find no payment for Schapelle Corby because no payment has been made", network personality Mike Willesee has declared in Bali.

He also said he had spoken to Corby for the first time and though she had suffered mental illness she had been fine when they spoke.

 

As police were still searching Channel Seven's headquarters, Willesee emerged in Bali to say "there is no deal" with the Corby family. Seven, he said, had bought nothing yet: "But we have, through a lot of hard work, positioned ourselves so that if there is an interview, we'll be first in line".

Media gather outside the Pyrmont office of Channel Seven. Photo: Ben Rushton

Seven's "hard work" so far includes exclusive access to the paroled drug smuggler, renting luxury villas alongside the Corby family in Bali and providing three or more security guards to protect Schapelle from other media in the area.

Federal police raided the Pyrmont and Eveleigh offices of Channel Seven as part of a proceeds of crime investigation on Tuesday morning. Officers remained inside the building at 1.30pm.

The network is reporting that it is to do with its dealings with Schapelle Corby.

The offices of Channel Seven were raided by the AFP this morning. Photo: Tamara Dean

An Australian Federal Police spokesman said: "The AFP can confirm it has executed a number of search warrants in Sydney in relation to an ongoing Proceeds of Crime Act matter. As this matter is ongoing it's not appropriate for the AFP to comment further."

Twelve AFP officers arrived at the Pyrmont offices about 8.55am. Channel Seven tried to prevent the officers from coming into their Pyrmont office, where the company's executive and corporate arms are located.

The network aired footage of a Channel Seven worker refusing them entry, saying "you are on our premises".

Schapelle Corby: reported to have signed a $2 million deal with Channel Seven. Photo: Justin McManus 

Staff proceeded to film police executing the search warrants, which included taking documents and speaking to employees.

In the footage, an AFP officer became angry that Channel Seven staff were filming them.

"There are rules that, umm, allow us to do our duty and the biggest thing in the search warrant is the hindrance of our duty," the officer said.

Mike Willesee addresses the media in Bali on Tuesday. Photo: Amilia Rosa

Channel Seven reporters tweeted pictures of police inside and outside the network's headquarters.

Gus Brusno, who described himself on Twitter as a media student, tweeted: ''Something pretty big is happening #Schapelle Corby wise right now'' followed by a picture 20 minutes later of at least eight black-suited officers gathering in the foyer of a Channel Seven building.

Seven reporter Damien Smith tweeted the same picture, saying the AFP officers were ''executing #Schappelle search warrant'' at the Pyrmont building.

An AFP spokeswoman confirmed that more than two warrants were being executed but she would not say where because the operation was ongoing.

Police also raided the magazine arm of Seven West Media in Eveleigh and it is believed they searched the office of Kim Wilson, editor of New Idea, which has a rumoured partnership deal with Corby and Sunday Night.

They were also filmed asking where the executive producers of Sunday Night are located. If the Corby interview goes ahead, it will be shown on the Sunday Night program.

An AFP spokesman said Sunday Night's offices in Paddington had not been raided nor had Seven's offices in North Sydney and Martin Place.

However, Channel Seven said it expected the Martin Place premises to be visited by police.

Commercial director Bruce McWilliam told News Corp that documents were handed over last week as part of a Proceeds of Crime production order and Monday's raids were a "gross over-reaction" by "some heavy-handed goon".

He said a senior government minister called him to apologise for the raids.

Eight days after Willesee swept into the Sentosa villa compound in Seminyak with the Corby entourage, the day Corby was released on parole from Kerobokan prison, the journalist said he had now spoken to Schapelle.

"I've been talking with Schapelle and she's in good shape. We've had some very good talks. But we haven't talked about the interview.

"She's suffered in jail, and she's come out with some mental issues which she appears to be dealing with very well. But you can't say if she's good today that she'll be good tomorrow. All I see is good, and I'm hopeful for her sake, even more than ours, that that continues. But she's in pretty good shape now; so I'd be optimistic for her."

Willesee said he had not talked to the Corbys "about the interview or business".

"I've just been chatting … It was a private conversation, it wasn't anything. But it was interesting."

He did not deny that a payment was planned to Corby or a member of her family after the planned interview, but said no payment had yet been made.

He also said the $2 million figure that has been widely quoted for the exclusive TV expose was "a lie and a fantasy and should finally be buried".

The attitude of the Indonesian authorities to any interview is crucial, after deputy Justice Minister Denny Indrayana strongly advised the family not to go ahead with an interview, paid or unpaid, because it may cause "restlessness" or "upset" within Indonesia.

But Willesee and Seven appear intent on pushing ahead, hoping that what Corby ultimately says in the interview will be accepted by the Indonesian authorities.

"We'd be very careful in an interview to see that we didn't breach any understanding that we had with the Indonesian authorities; we'd be very respectful of that," he said.

Asked, though, if he or Seven had or was trying to get any kind of "understanding," Willesee said they were not.

The Proceeds of Crime Act provides a scheme to ''trace, restrain and confiscate the proceeds of crime against Commonwealth law''.

However, in some circumstances, it can also be used to confiscate the proceeds of crime against foreign law or the proceeds of crime against state law if those proceeds have been used in a way that contravenes Commonwealth law.

Since her release after nine years in jail, Corby has been living inside the five-star Villa Sentosa Seminyak, protected by the guards hired by the Seven Network.

Indonesian sensitivities have been insulted by Corby’s residence in the villa, but last week Corby’s brother-in-law Wayan Widyartha said the group would not yet leave it to go back to the address listed in her parole documents — his family compound in Kuta.

He reportedly said Corby wanted to go home as quickly as possible, but that the encampment of Australian journalists, waiting in a hotel cafe outside the compound, were ‘‘causing all the problems’’.

Corby is due to serve out more than three years on parole until her final release on July 25, 2017.