Arrest warrant issued for colorful developer Jean Nassif
He also posted, “You’re left drained in every aspect of your life: mentally, emotionally, spiritually and often financially!”
The herald may reveal that Nassif has been busy borrowing millions of dollars using real estate as collateral lately.
Nassif on Thursday finalized an agreement to borrow money from a company run by scaffolder Antoine Khouzame. Nassif offered as collateral the waterfront home he bought in Chiswick in 2015 for $4.9 million.
His Chiswick home was also offered as collateral for another loan.
Documents show that EA Legal, the law firm run by his two daughters, Evelyn Nassif Helou (who has not been charged with a crime) and the suspended Ashlyn, filed a reservation last month.
The caveat reflects that Nassif’s troubled development company Toplace loaned Nassif an unspecified amount of money.
The infamous yellow Lamborghini and its owner, Nisserine Nassif, went viral in 2019.Credit: Instagram
The developer has also reached an agreement to borrow nearly $6 million from a lending company affiliated with bankruptcy firm Cor Cordis. Four homes belonging to a Nassif company in Mascot were used as collateral.
The loan, which has a term of six months, began on May 31st. The credit limit was $5.665 million and the interest rate fluctuates between 25 and 30 percent per year.
Meanwhile, two of Nassif’s development companies have been placed in the hands of administrators. The two companies own Nassif’s troubled Skyview apartment towers on Sydney’s Castle Hill. Land records for the Skyview property show that Nassif has borrowed money from a number of companies based in the British Virgin Islands’ tax haven.
Meanwhile, a Nassif company is embroiled in a Supreme Court lawsuit with another lender whose chief executive was charged with rape this week.
Last month the NSW Court of Appeal ruled that Toplace had to pay more than $5 million for defective construction work on its 28-storey project in Parramatta.
In addition to the NSW Police, officers from the Independent Commission Against Corruption are said to be interested in speaking to Nassif in relation to his investigations into Hills Shire Council.
The inquiry is believed to have been sparked by allegations first made in Parliament by Ray Williams, a Liberal MP from New South Wales, that senior members of his party had been “paid significant funds” to hire new councillors, that would support future development applications for Nassif.
Peter Faux, Chief Detective for the State Crime Command’s Organized Crime Division, said: “Mr Nassif, we obviously have the warrant for your arrest. We encourage you to get in touch and speak to investigators as soon as possible.”
Developer Jean Nassif and his wife Nisserine.Credit: Instagram
Speaking outside Surry Hills Police Station on Friday, Faux said Nassif’s warrant was for the same “large scale” fraud allegations against his daughter Ashlyn, who remains on trial.
The detective said the police didn’t know where in the world Nassif was hiding.
“We are seeking help from either people who know of his whereabouts or if Mr. Nassif wishes to come forward and speak to investigators,” Faux said.
According to Faux, if Nassif were off the coast, in Lebanon or elsewhere, New South Wales police would begin talking to foreign governments about extradition.
“We’re now looking at those options in terms of whether he’s overseas and speaking to the appropriate people,” Faux said.
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