The finance director of the NSW Liberal Party understood in 2010 that money from banned donors was making its way to the organisation, the state’s corruption watchdog has heard.

In testimony that could implicate sidelined minister Chris Hartcher, Simon McInnes has told the Independent Commission Against Corruption he shared his “discomfort” about arrangements involving an alleged Liberal front organisation with fundraiser Paul Nicolaou.

The ICAC is investigating whether a trust, the Free Enterprise Foundation (FEF), was used to funnel banned donations to NSW campaign coffers.

Mr McInnes told the ICAC on Friday that in the case of some donors to the FEF, it was “obvious” they would have been prohibited from giving money directly to the NSW Liberals.

Property developers have been barred from making political donations in NSW since 2009.

Mr McInnes said about $180,000 in cheques – some as small as $500 – were channelled through the FEF via Mr Nicolaou, after being “collected or solicited” by Mr Hartcher’s office.

“I couldn’t understand why, why would you go to this trouble? And I was also concerned that there may be donations that could have come from prohibited donors, who would have been prohibited from directly donating to the party,” Mr McInnes said.

“Effectively (I was told) words to the effect of: ‘What Hartcher wants, Hartcher gets.'”

He said he believed he had raised concerns with former NSW Liberal Party state director Mark Neeham, but not with the party’s executive or with politicians, including Mr Hartcher.

A list compiled by Mr McInnes in December 2010 lists Brickworks, Meriton Premier Apartments and the privately owned property developer Walker Group Holdings as being among organisations whose donations to the FEF were passed on to NSW.

“They’re prohibited from making donations to the (NSW) party,” Mr McInnes said of some donors on the list.

“It wasn’t my belief that they were prohibited from making donations to the Free Enterprise Foundation.”

“But it was plain that they would donate to the foundation and the money would come back to the party?” counsel assisting Geoffrey Watson SC asked.

“That’s correct,” Mr McInnes replied.

He added he didn’t believe the practice “was in the spirit of the law” restricting political donations in NSW.

Mr Neeham, now with Crosby Textor, and Mr Nicolaou, who resigned as chairman of the fundraising body the Millennium Forum earlier this year, are due to give evidence later on Friday.