Source : Perth Now news
The daughter of a fugitive property developer has been spared jail for falsifying documents to obtain a $150 million construction loan to assist her father.
Ashlyn Nassif faced Burwood Local Court on Monday to be sentenced after pleading guilty to providing false or misleading documents to gain an advantage.
The 32-year-old provided a falsified pre-sale contract to Westpac in 2021 to secure a $150 million loan for the construction of three towers of the Skyview Apartments complex in northwest Sydney.
The complex was built by her father Jean Nassif’s development firm Toplace, which has since been barred from engaging in construction work after a string of defects in major projects.
There is a warrant out for the arrest of Mr Nassif, who fled the country for Lebanon in 2022 and is at the centre of an ongoing corruption inquiry.
His daughter, a trained lawyer, had been an executive at his company before its collapse.
She was convicted on Monday and sentenced to a six-month community corrections order for providing false documents to secure the $150 million loan from Westpac.
A further charge accusing Ms Nassif of defrauding the bank was previously withdrawn.
Her sentence will expire in March 2027.
The ruling comes more than three years after Ms Nassif was arrested and suspended from practising law as a result of the charges against her.
The building for which she secured the $150 million loan became a focal point for the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry during the testimony of former NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler.
The commission is investigating allegations that Liberal Party operatives, including former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet’s brother Charles, sought cash from Nassif in exchange for political outcomes.
Mr Chandler told the commission he had been threatened by Mr Nassif after halting progress on the Skyview development due to potential defects.
He said he inspected the Castle Hill development in April 2021 after being contacted by concerned parties, eventually issuing a prohibition order on the project so it could be certified by an independent engineer.
The order prevented a certificate of occupancy from being granted, delaying the settlement of apartment sales in the complex.
Mr Nassif did not appear before the commission via audiovisual from Lebanon on Friday as expected.
