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A press conference given by a senior officer of the Australian Federal Police will be examined by a jury this week as part of a multimillion-dollar defamation battle launched by two people accused of childcare fraud.

Ola Ouda and her partner Amgad Shehada were accused by the AFP of rorting government subsidies with “phantom children” at their childcare business in November 2020, however the charges were later dropped.

Ola Ouda is suing the AFP for defamation. Credit: Facebook

The pair were arrested when 150 AFP officers raided properties across Melbourne and Sydney as part of a probe involving several different government departments and thousands of documents.

In the days after the raid, commander Todd Hunter held a press conference to announce the dismantling of an alleged criminal network that had defrauded millions worth of childcare subsidies which was spent on luxury goods and investments.

Major TV networks have been subpoenaed for copies of the press conference as part of the defamation trial, which is due to begin in the Supreme Court on Monday.

It is unusual for a defamation case involving police to get to trial, with the parties unable to settle so far.

The damages bill could reach into the millions if Ouda and Shehada can prove their case after their childcare company collapsed in the wake of the arrests.

In 2019, Melbourne nightclub owner Martha Tsamis was awarded $90,000 over defamatory comments made by a senior officer of Victoria Police to the media.

AFP commander Todd Hunter giving the press conference in November 2020.Credit: Nine News

AFP commander Todd Hunter told reporters at the time that the owners of the childcare business had allegedly registered “phantom children” who did not attend the centre to fraudulently claim the payments.

Hunter also stated that the co-accused had allegedly received COVID-19 stimulus package payments, including JobKeeper, that they weren’t entitled to, including at a restaurant they owned.

“As a result, the AFP and its partners are investigating payments of more than $15 million,” he said.

“This is money that belongs in the hands of our community to help care for some of our most vulnerable persons. We allege that out of greed, it has instead been used to foot the bill for extensive real-estate portfolios, overseas travel and other luxury items.”

Ouda and Shehada were not named in the press conference, however, the pair were identified as the alleged syndicate masterminds in media reports of the arrest, including by The Age.

In his press conference, Hunter gave the ages of the co-accused and said the childcare centre was one of the biggest claimants of subsidies in Australia.

The charges were later dropped.

In its defence document, the AFP said that it was free to publish the words of the press conference under qualified privilege, which protects communication between certain parties.

The AFP is also relying on a defence of honest opinion and that Hunter believed the material provided to him during the investigation was substantially true.

The AFP and Rose Rocca, the lawyer representing Ouda and Shehada, did not comment.

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