This February, Marc Fennell turns the spotlight on one of Australia’s most audacious and baffling frauds in SBS true crime event Australia’s Greatest Conman?.
The two-part documentary revisits the extraordinary rise and sudden disappearance of John Friedrich, a man who built an elite civilian search and rescue organisation while quietly orchestrating a deception now estimated at more than $900 million in today’s value.
Across the late 1970s and 1980s, Friedrich transformed the National Safety Council Victoria Division from a modest operation into an internationally recognised rescue force, pioneering headline-grabbing techniques that earned public trust, government contracts and national honours. Banks and politicians, including then prime minister Bob Hawke, backed the operation as its influence grew.
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Behind the success, however, Friedrich’s finances remained opaque. Despite mounting concerns over significant deficits, lenders continued to extend vast loans, even as journalists and rivals began asking where the money was coming from and who Friedrich really was.
John Friedrich, the enigmatic figure whose rise, fall and sudden disappearance sit at the centre of SBS true crime event Australia’s Greatest Conman? (image – supplied)
In 1989, when pressed to explain accounting irregularities, Friedrich vanished. His disappearance triggered a nationwide search and left Australia questioning how a man with no verifiable past had managed to deceive institutions at the highest levels.
In Australia’s Greatest Conman?, Walkley Award-winning journalist Marc Fennell pieces together the story through exclusive interviews with Kerry O’Brien, 10’s Hugh Riminton, and Richard Fidler, alongside accounts from Friedrich’s former colleagues and critics. The series examines whether Friedrich was a master criminal, a misguided idealist or something more complex.
Produced in house by SBS, the series will be subtitled in five languages on SBS On Demand, with an accompanying German language podcast, Der Fall John Friedrich, offering further insight.
Australia’s Greatest Conman? premieres Tuesday 24 February at 8.30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand, with the second and final episode airing Wednesday 25 February at 8.30pm.
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