The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has had a win against two sons of corrupt former Labor minister Eddie Obeid, after a court ruled they could be forced to give evidence in an investigation into potential cartel conduct.
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Paul and Moses Obeid, the second and third of Mr Obeid's five sons, are being investigated by the ACCC over their involvement in a tender process for a coal exploration licence over their family's Bylong Valley farm.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption found last year that Moses Obeid and his father corruptly agreed with then Labor mining minister Ian Macdonald to create a coal tenement over the property in 2009.
The ACCC is examining allegations of cartel conduct - where companies collude rather than compete with each other - during the tender process.
The Obeids took action in the Federal Court to challenge compulsory examination notices issued to them by the ACCC, which will compel them to co-operate with the watchdog's investigations by handing over documents and giving evidence in private.
On Friday, Justice Kathleen Farrell dismissed the Obeids' application.
"The ACCC’s investigation follows the report produced by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption in Operation Jasper concerning this tender process," the ACCC said in a statement.
"As this matter is subject to ongoing investigation, the ACCC will not make any further comment."
Separately, members of the Obeid family are being pursued by the Australian Taxation Office for a slice of a $30 million mining deal relating to the coal-rich property.
