Eddie Obeid in the box at ICAC

Former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid is due to give evidence to the NSW corruption watchdog again. Source: AAP

CROOKED former NSW minister Eddie Obeid has taken his place in the corruption watchdog's witness box.

Obeid's much-anticipated appearance before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) began with an admission he had raised the subject of Australian Water Holdings (AWH) with several Labor heavyweights.

He said he'd talked about infrastructure firm AWH, or its chief executive Nick Di Girolamo, with former NSW treasurer Michael Costa, former water minister Phil Costa and former premiers Nathan Rees, Morris Iemma and Kristina Keneally.

The ICAC is probing allegations the Obeid family had a secret stake in AWH and stood to make millions if a $1 billion public private partnership with the NSW government got up.

But Obeid on Wednesday echoed the testimony of his sons Paul and Moses, who have already told the commission that a document entitled "Sale of Shares" in fact recorded a decision to lend $3 million to Mr Di Girolamo.

Despite intense media attention in the public inquiry, Obeid told counsel he had never heard any suggestion that his family had bought into AWH.

"I'm aware of a loan," Mr Obeid told counsel assisting Geoffrey Watson.

"I don't read the newspapers."

He also told the inquiry he was not aware Mr Di Girolamo was best friends with his son Edward, to which Mr Watson asked: "Aren't they godfather of each others' children?"

Obeid also said Edward never told him he was going to begin working for AWH.

Instead, he eventually heard it "down the grapevine".

"It wasn't a secret was it?" Mr Watson asked.

"Well I just wasn't told," Obeid replied.

"As far as I was concerned, Edward was working in the family business."

But Obeid emphatically denied raising AWH with former NSW ministers Joe Tripodi and Tony Kelly, who are both slated to follow him into the ICAC witness box on Wednesday.

Obeid will return to the witness box on Wednesday afternoon.

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