Updated ,first published
Joel Thickins, the local boss of one of the worldโs largest private equity firms, TPG Capital, has pleaded guilty to negligent driving and refusing a breath test.
Thickins fronted local court this morning after crashing his car into five vehicles in Sydneyโs eastern suburbs earlier this month.
Early this month, NSW Police were called to a car crash in Sydneyโs eastern suburbs, where Thickins crashed his BMW into a Mazda before hitting another four parked cars on York Road in Queens Park. He refused a roadside breath test.
The high-profile private equity boss, who also acts as the co-head of TPGโs 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 refused the station breathalyser.
โHe was given a court attendance notice for negligent driving and refuse or fail to submit to breath analysis,โ police said in the statement.
TPG Capital has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
โTPG takes this situation seriously and has been working to assess the facts and context in full to identify an appropriate course of action,โ a TPG spokeswoman said in the statement.
โUpon 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.โ
TPG Capital is not related to the telecommunications company of the same name.
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