At an impending committal hearing, Ashlyn Nassif’s attorneys will refute claims that she fabricated official documentation in order to obtain a multimillion-dollar development loan.
Present at Burwood Local Court today was the 30-year-old daughter of real estate developer Jean Nassif, who is currently on the run.
She was accused of using a fake pre-sale contract to secure a $150 million loan from Westpac in 2021, and in February, she was charged with dishonestly acquiring financial advantage by deceit and disseminating false misleading material to obtain the advantage.
NSW Police is pursuing Mr. Nassif after he fled Australia for Lebanon in 2022, after they conducted a two-year fraud probe.
Before the case goes to trial, Ms. Nassif’s attorney informed the court that they are ready to submit a section 82 application to question prosecution witnesses.
The deadline for prosecutors to reply to the application is August 7.
In order to satisfy a $10.5 million pre-sales requirement for the Skyview Apartments at Castle Hill in northwest Sydney, Ms. Nassif reportedly presented false contracts, which in turn caused the $150 million bank loan to be approved for the building of three storeys.
After declining to attend at a NSW parliamentary inquiry examining property development in the Hills Shire Council, her father is thought to be abroad.
In 2022, Fair Trading permanently barred his company, Toplace, from doing construction work and suspended his licencing for ten years.
Following simultaneous raids on four properties, including her father’s multimillion-dollar Chiswick estate and his Concord-based Toplace development firm, Ms. Nassif turned herself in to the police early this year.
Premier Chris Minns personally pleaded with Mr. Nassif to surrender to the police in December.
On August 28, the case is scheduled to return to court.
