By Zac de Silva in Canberra

Hundreds of thousands of Australian taxpayer dollars for offshore detention have found their way to a Nauruan company with links to the Pacific nation’s current and former presidents.

A government contractor has poured at least $761,000 into the parent company of a business linked to Nauru’s president David Adeang, his predecessor and the country’s former first lady.

The immigration deal came to light when an unreleased report by Australia’s financial crimes watchdog was entered into the public record.  Greens senator David Shoebridge read sections of the AUSTRAC report into Hansard in late 2025.

Official figures reveal fresh information about government funding flowing to a business linked to Mr Adeang.

Under the offshore immigration program, a private company called MTC Australia has been paid to provide accommodation, maintenance and security on Nauru.

Water delivery services have been subcontracted to a firm called Chazaq Corporation Limited.

Chazaq owns another business, LRC Car Rentals, which is linked to Mr Adeang and the former president’s wife.

Senator Shoebridge put questions about the offshore immigration contract to the Department of Home Affairs.

“As at 31 October 2025, the total value of payments to MTC Australia for the Chazaq subcontract was $761,370,” the department said in its response.

MTC Australia has been contacted for comment. So too has the Nauruan High Commission and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

In November 2025, Senator Shoebridge used parliamentary privilege to accuse Nauru’s president of siphoning off millions of dollars of Australian taxpayer money.

He told the Senate that AUSTRAC had formed a suspicion of corruption and money laundering against Mr Adeang, based on the rapid movement of large sums of money from LRC Car Rentals.

Former president Lionel Aingimea and his wife Jacinta were also named in the report, which was produced some time before September 2022, Senator Shoebridge told federal parliament.

After a series of revelations about offshore detention contracts, the government ordered an independent review of the migration system.

In response, it agreed to improve its subcontractor approval processes and bolster due diligence for providers.

Officials from Home Affairs and MTC Australia are expected to face a grilling on the issue at a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday.

The inquiry will be the first time a secretive deportation deal between Australia and Nauru is examined by a Senate committee.

The agreement involves Australia paying $400 million in up-front costs and $70 million annually to send former immigration detainees to Nauru.

In its submission to the Senate inquiry, Home Affairs said the agreement with Nauru was compliant with Australia’s international obligations, including for the protection of refugees.