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EXCLUSIVE
The controversial property developer at the heart of the scandal involving two of NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet’s brothers has had his business and luxury Sydney waterfront home raided by police.
Jean Nassif’s lawyer daughter Ashlyn Nassif, 27, has been arrested after four properties connected to the developer were raided yesterday by the NSW Police Organised Crime Squad as part of a fraud investigation.
Four properties connected to developer Jean Nassif have been raided and his lawyer daughter Ashlyn Nassif, 27, has been arrested by the NSW Police Organised Crime Squad in part of an alleged fraud operation.
Ashlyn Nassif was refused bail, spending Tuesday night in police custody having been charged with dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and publishing false or misleading material to obtain advantage.
She is due to face the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney this morning.
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Ashlyn Nassif is executive manager of Toplace, the major Sydney apartment developer owned by her father.
Arrested: Toplace executive manager Ashlyn Nassif. Source: LinkedIn
Her LinedIn profile states she has worked as a Toplace executive since July 2016.
It states she has owned law firm EA Legal, which is based in Sydney’s CBD and was one of the four properties raided yesterday, since 2017.
Jean Nassif is at the centre of an ongoing NSW upper house inquiry, launched following allegations he financed the stacking of Sydney’s Hills Shire Council to get property developments approved.
Two of the NSW Premier’s brothers — Charles Perrottet and Jean-Claude Perrottet — have refused to give evidence to the inquiry, which is scheduled to hold its next public hearing on Thursday.
Jean Nassif, the owner of major apartment developer Toplace, has told the parliamentary inquiry he is in “remote Lebanon” and unable to give evidence.
The police raids are separate to the parliamentary inquiry.
No warrant has been issued for Jean Nassif’s arrest and it is not suggested he is involved in the alleged wrongdoing.
Raided: Toplace’s headquarters in Sydney’s Concord. Source: Google Street View
Among the properties raided by police were three businesses, including in Sydney’s CBD, Toplace’s headquarters in Concord and Nassif’s multi-level waterfront mansion in Chiswick, both in Sydney’s inner west.
In a statement provided to The Klaxon overnight, a NSW Police spokeswoman said four search warrants had been executed at the properties at about 9.30am Tuesday.
“About 9.30am (Tuesday), detectives from the State Crime Command’s Organised Crime Squad executed four search warrants at businesses in Sydney’s CBD and Concord, and a home in Chiswick, as part of an ongoing fraud investigation,” the statement said.
“As part of inquiries, a 27-year-old woman attended Day Street Police Station about 3.30pm, where she was arrested and charged with dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception and publish false misleading material to obtain advantage.
Jean Nassif, pictured with wife Nissy. Source: Instagram.
“She was refused bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court tomorrow (Wednesday 1 March 2023).
“As this is an ongoing investigation, no further information is available at this time,” the statement said.
Nassif is alleged to have developed apartment projects with multiple faults and in December NSW Fair Trading moved to suspend his building licence for 10 years and to permanently prevent revoke Toplace’s building licence.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in January granted Nassif and Toplace a stay on the bans, after the parties argued they could prevent the parties from delivering on tens of millions of dollars worth of contracts.
Some of Jean Nassif’s Toplace Sydney developments. Source: Toplace
In June last year NSW Liberal MP Ray Williams told parliament he had been made aware of allegations senior members of the NSW Liberal Party had received money from Nassif to stack the Hills Shire Council with councillors who would approve his developments.
Nassif denies the allegations.
It is alleged money was funnelled from Nassif via “lobbying” companies, including companies connected to Liberal Party figures Christian Ellis and Charles Perrottet.
The inquiry has been seeking to “serve”Christian Ellis and Jean-Claude Perrottet, Secretary of the NSW Young Liberals, for almost three weeks in attempts to force them to give evidence of be failed.
Despite a statewide manhunt costing taxpayers thousands of dollars, the inquiry has been unable to locate either man.
How The Klaxon broke the story yesterday. Source: The Klaxon
As revealed by The Klaxon yesterday, Charle’s Perrottet’s wife Anita Perrottet, is the 100 per cent owner of one of two “lobbying” companies named by the upper house inquiry in public hearings.
Companies searches by The Klaxon show Anita Perrottet fully owns, and is the sole director of, Macquarie Consulting Pty Ltd, which was created in August 2020.
Charles Perrottet and Jean-Claude Perrottet are allegedly key figures in a secretive, hard-right “Christian” group called the NSW Reformers.
The NSW Reformers: allegations of serious misconduct tabled by NSW parliamentary inquiry. Source: The Klaxon
It is alleged the NSW Reformers were closely involved in the stacking of the Hills Shire Council, in Sydney’s outer north-west, in December 2021.
Premier Perrottet has repeatedly refused to comment on the scandal.
The NSW election will be held on March 25, with the government entering “caretaker” period from this Saturday.
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Anthony Klan
Editor, The Klaxon
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