Former Ryde councillor Artin Etmekdjian resigns from Liberal Party over tax fraud conviction – The Sydney Morning Herald

A former Ryde councillor has resigned from the Liberal Partyfollowing his conviction for tax fraud over the backdated tax returns of ex Macquarie banker Michael Carapiet.

Artin Etmekdjian, a tax agent, was handed a seven-month suspended jail sentence for fraud last week, to be served as an intensive correction order, after pleading guilty to dishonestly influencing a public official at the tax office over Mr Carapiet's declarations.

MrEtmekdjianpre-empted theLiberal Party's attempt to expel him on Friday night, formally resigning from the party hours before a meeting of the state executive was to consider a motion to strip him of his membership.

A Liberal party spokesman confirmed Mr Etmekdjian's resignation.

"The individual concerned is no longer a member of the Liberal Party. We expect a high standard of conduct from all party members, in line with community expectations."

Mr Etmekdjian'sresignation follows his expulsion from Ryde Council on Thursday, one week after he was sentenced over the matter in Sydney's Downing Centre local court.

He plead guilty to the charge in Januarybut is now appealing against the sentence.

As Fairfax Media revealed on Thursday, Mr Etmekdjian's conviction centred on the tax affairs of Mr Carapiet, Macquarie's former head of investment banking, who retired in 2011 after a celebrated 22-year career at the bank.

As Mr Carapiet's tax agent, Mr Etmekdjian handled the banker's tax returns relating to a series of share options worth around $2 million, whichhe was granted as part of the bank's employee share plan in the 2002, 2006 and 2007 financial years.

Employee share schemes provide for discounts and benefits to workers so long as the employee makes an election on an s139E form from the tax office to include the discount in assessable income for the year they were granted.

According to the agreed statement of facts tendered at his sentencing, Mr Etmekdjian emailed Mr Carapiet's personal assistant at Macquarie in 2009 requesting Mr Carapiet sign and backdate forms variously as from 2002, 2006 and 2007.

"The purpose of these forms being backdated and passed off as genuine to the ATO was in order to substantially reduce Carapiet's aggregated tax income liability," the documents stated.

The court also heard evidence that a forensic examination by the Australian Federal Police last year led it to believe Mr Carapiet signed the forms one after the other, as the indentation of Mr Carapiet's signature and handwritten date from the earlier forms were discovered on the later forms.

However, in 2009Mr Etmekdjian informed the tax office Mr Carapiet "is quite adamant that the s139Eelections were made in accordance with the relevant legislation".

Mr Carapiet has not been charged over the matter. Neither Mr Carapiet nor Mr Etmekdjian have responded to Fairfax Media's repeated requests for comment.

Mr Etmekdjian's disqualification from council strips the Ryde Liberal faction of yet another vote, after Cr Craig Chung resigned last year to take up a position as councillor at the City of Sydney. The Liberals now hold four seats on council, the same number held by independents, while Labor has two seats.

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Former Ryde councillor Artin Etmekdjian resigns from Liberal Party over tax fraud conviction - The Sydney Morning Herald