Joel Thickins, the local boss of one of the world’s largest private equity firms, TPG Capital, fronted local court this morning after allegedly crashing his car into five vehicles in Sydney’s eastern suburbs earlier this month.
Early this month, NSW Police were called to a car crash in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where Thickins allegedly crashed his BMW into a Mazda before allegedly hitting another four parked cars on York Road in Queens Park. He allegedly refused a roadside breath test.
The high-profile private equity boss, who also acts as the co-head of TPG’s Asia operation, was arrested and taken to Paddington police station for a breath analysis, NSW Police previously told this masthead in a statement. Thickins also allegedly refused the station breathalyser.
“He was given a court attendance notice for negligent driving and refuse or fail to submit to breath analysis,” police said in the statement.
TPG Capital has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the alleged crash.
“TPG takes this situation seriously and has been working to assess the facts and context in full to identify an appropriate course of action,” a TPG spokeswoman said in the statement.
“Upon learning of the collision in Sydney, TPG promptly engaged a leading international law firm to conduct an investigation of both the circumstances surrounding the collision and other allegations of which we became aware following the accident. While we await the outcome of Australian court proceedings related to the collision, the investigation to date has not identified any evidence that corroborates these allegations.”
TPG Capital is not related to the telecommunications company of the same name.
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Colin Kruger is a senior business reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
