Ashlyn Nassif, the daughter of Jean Nassif, a Sydney property developer has been released on bail after she was arrested by the New South Wales organised crime squad as part of a major fraud investigation into a controversial multimillion development in the city’s north-west.
Nassif, 27, appeared in the Downing Centre local court on Wednesday to apply for bail after spending the night in prison after a series of raids across Sydney.
Nassif was released on a series of strict bail conditions including that she not contact her father, as well as 23 other people and the payment of a $2.6m bond.
She was arrested and charged on Tuesday with dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, as well as publishing false or misleading material to obtain an advantage.
Magistrate Greg Grogin said the charges against Nassif related to an alleged “sophisticated and planned situation” in relation to the Skyview development in Castle Hill.
Nassif is accused of having dishonestly obtained a $150m loan from Westpac Bank to fund the development by allegedly falsifying a $10.5m pre-sale contract.
Grogin said she was accused of making “false and misleading” statements in relation to the sale.
While Nassif was the only person to have been charged in relation to the NSW Police investigation, the court heard it had been “foreshadowed” that there was likely to be more to come.
Her father, Jean Nassif, has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to the investigation.
Jean Nassif’s company, Toplace, is central to an ongoing NSW parliamentary inquiry examining allegations of “impropriety” at the Hills Shire council in the city’s north-west.
That inquiry – which is separate and unrelated to the police investigation – has been seeking to call Jean Nassif, who is currently in rural Lebanon, as a witness.
The investigation is examining allegations of improper relationships between Liberal party councillors on the Hills Shire and property developers.
The allegations were first raised during a speech in parliament by Liberal MP Ray Williams last year, in which he claimed senior members of the party had been “paid significant funds” to install new councillors to support development applications by Toplace.
Nassif has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Ashlyn Nassif’s arrest came after officers from the state’s organised crime squad executed four search warrants at businesses in Sydney’s CBD and Concord in the city’s inner-west, as well as at a home in Chiswick.
The warrants were part of an ongoing fraud investigation, police said, and included the offices of Toplace.
In a statement the NSW Police said that after the raids, Ashlyn Nassif attended the Day Street police station where she was arrested and charged.
Nassif appeared via video link from prison wearing an orange tie-dye top, and waved to her mother, sister and fiance, who were in the court. Her family had agreed to put up the $2.6m surety to secure her release, the court heard.
