Jean Nassif's daughter tells court father 'pressured' her to falsify $150m loan documents
A Sydney court heard that Ashlyn Nassif, who pleaded guilty to providing false information to obtain a $150m construction loan, was pressured into the offence by her fugitive father Jean Nassif.
Burwood local court in Sydney heard on Monday that 32-year-old Ashlyn Nassif, daughter of fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, was pressured by her father into falsifying documents used to secure roughly $150m in construction financing from Westpac. The funds were used to build three apartment towers in Sydney's north-west in 2021.
Ashlyn Nassif pleaded guilty in June to providing false or misleading information to obtain the loan. Her lawyer, Murugan Thangaraj SC, told the court that while his client accepted her role in the offence, her father — head of the now-collapsed construction firm Toplace — bore significant responsibility.
Claims of coercive control
Thangaraj said Jean Nassif's ex-wife had described a decade of coercive control in their relationship, and argued this was consistent with how he treated his daughter, including pressuring her to lose weight or undergo cosmetic surgery so he could "show her off". The lawyer said she was far from the glamorous heiress often portrayed.
Before fleeing Australia, Jean Nassif reportedly told his daughter he was "desperate" for the Westpac loan, which the defence says drove her to agree to something she otherwise never would have done.
Jean Nassif, 58, left Australia for rural Lebanon in 2022 and has denied any wrongdoing. He had agreed to appear via video link on Friday but instead produced a medical certificate to excuse himself.
He is currently being pursued by New South Wales police following a two-year fraud investigation, with an arrest warrant issued against him. Fifty-seven companies linked to Toplace are now in administration. Separately, the state's Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating claims that Liberal party powerbrokers accepted a $2m payment from Jean Nassif in breach of electoral funding laws.
Prosecutors allege Ashlyn Nassif knew that purchasers and contractors involved in the loan arrangement did not meet the required "at arm's length" definition, a claim the defence disputes. She was scheduled to be sentenced on Monday afternoon.
