In 1991 Bjelke-Petersen faced criminal trial for perjury arising out of the evidence he had given to the Fitzgerald Inquiry (an earlier proposed charge of corruption was incorporated into the perjury charge). Evidence was given to the perjury trial by Sir Joh's former police Special Branch bodyguard Sergeant Bob Carter that in 1986 he had twice been given packages of cash totalling $210,000 at Sir Joh's office. He was told to take them to a Brisbane city law firm and then watch as the money was deposited in a company bank account.

The money had been given over by developer Sng Swee Lee, and the bank account was in the name of Kaldeal, operated by a trustee of the National Party, Edward Lyons.[70] John Huey, a Fitzgerald Inquiry Investigator later told Four Corners: "I said to Robert Sng, "Well what did Sir Joh say to you when you gave him this large sum of money?" And he said, "All he said was, 'thank you, thank you, thank you'." The jury in the case remained deadlocked. In 1992 it was revealed that the jury foreman, Luke Shaw, was a member of the Young Nationals and was identified with the "Friends of Joh" movement. A special prosecutor announced in 1992 there would be no retrial because Sir Joh, then aged 81, was too old. Developer Sng Swee Lee refused to return from Singapore for a retrial. One unproved estimate of Bjelke-Petersen's extortions was at least A$6 million.