‘Remon, that is illegal': Controversial Sydney developer accused of fraudulent rent scheme
Controversial property developer Remon Fayad is alleged to have engaged in 'serious wrongful conduct', after a court heard he'd tried to organise a fraudulent deal to have a tenant inflate a rental agreement so that Fayad could get a better sale price for the business premises.
'Remon, that is illegal,' said his tenant, Charles Assaf, who runs the childcare business Montessori Academy, the NSW Supreme Court has heard.
Only months before he jetted off for his multimillion-dollar wedding extravaganza in Florence last July, Fayad, 37, was in a precarious financial position facing bankruptcy proceedings against him and his older brother, Fayad Lee Fayad, over combined tax debts of more than $20 million.
Both Fayads are former executives of the family development company Dyldam, which collapsed in 2020. Their father Sam Fayad has the unfortunate record of having the largest bankruptcy in the nation, with personal debts of $2.8 billion.
Despite being bankrupt, Sam Fayad and his wife Maria flew first-class to Italy to enjoy their son's four-day wedding festivities, with the flower decorations alone costing more than $500,000.
In a Supreme Court judgment handed down last week, Justice Ian Pike ruled that Remon Fayad wrongfully terminated the lease of a Montessori childcare centre in Thallon Street, Carlingford, only weeks after negotiations for Assaf's company, Montessori Academy, to buy the premises broke down.
In late 2020, the Montessori childcare centre agreed to lease the ground floor of the Dyldam-related development The Somerset, a largely residential development. The 10-year lease was for $216,000 per annum, which was to increase by 3 per cent annually. There was also an option to renew for two further 10-year periods.
The Dyldam-related company that developed the Thallon Street site, C88 Project, followed a well-worn Dyldam pattern in which associated companies, having completed the development and having paid Dyldam handsomely for construction services, then collapse, owing creditors, including contractors and the ATO, millions of dollars.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
‘If they can do it': White House says Australia should follow NATO, lift defence spending
Washington: The Trump administration is poised to ratchet up pressure on Australia and other Indo-Pacific allies to increase defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP after being emboldened by an agreement from its NATO partners. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told this masthead: 'If our allies in Europe and our NATO allies can do it, I think our allies and our friends in the Indo-Pacific region can do it as well.' She said she would leave discussions of specific countries to the president. The administration has already asked Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent from a projected 2.33 per cent by 2033, something the government says it is assessing. But the NATO decision makes it more difficult for Australia and other partners, such as Japan, to refuse. 'The developments at NATO suggest that the president and his team will be very keen that allies in the Indo-Pacific region follow a similar pattern in a commitment to increase defence expenditure,' said Arthur Sinodinos, a former Australian ambassador to the US, who is now at The Asia Group and co-chair of the AUKUS Forum, a group for AUKUS-related businesses. 'Clearly, that puts the onus on Australia and other partners in the Indo-Pacific to explain their current levels of defence spending and how they are contributing to the alliance network in the region,' Sinodinos said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended Australia's defence expenditure on Friday, saying his government had already lifted investment in defence. 'We've increased it by $57 billion over the medium term and by more than $10 billion in the short term, as well,' he said. Loading Charles Edel, Australia chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a former US State Department adviser, said the administration's call to increase defence spending was in line with Australia's own prerogative to prepare for regional security challenges. 'Preserving a favourable balance of power in the face of increasing Chinese provocations demands more robust efforts by Australia as well as the United States,' he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘If they can do it': White House says Australia should follow NATO, lift defence spending
Washington: The Trump administration is poised to ratchet up pressure on Australia and other Indo-Pacific allies to increase defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP after being emboldened by an agreement from its NATO partners. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told this masthead: 'If our allies in Europe and our NATO allies can do it, I think our allies and our friends in the Indo-Pacific region can do it as well.' She said she would leave discussions of specific countries to the president. The administration has already asked Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent from a projected 2.33 per cent by 2033, something the government says it is assessing. But the NATO decision makes it more difficult for Australia and other partners, such as Japan, to refuse. 'The developments at NATO suggest that the president and his team will be very keen that allies in the Indo-Pacific region follow a similar pattern in a commitment to increase defence expenditure,' said Arthur Sinodinos, a former Australian ambassador to the US, who is now at The Asia Group and co-chair of the AUKUS Forum, a group for AUKUS-related businesses. 'Clearly, that puts the onus on Australia and other partners in the Indo-Pacific to explain their current levels of defence spending and how they are contributing to the alliance network in the region,' Sinodinos said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended Australia's defence expenditure on Friday, saying his government had already lifted investment in defence. 'We've increased it by $57 billion over the medium term and by more than $10 billion in the short term, as well,' he said. Loading Charles Edel, Australia chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a former US State Department adviser, said the administration's call to increase defence spending was in line with Australia's own prerogative to prepare for regional security challenges. 'Preserving a favourable balance of power in the face of increasing Chinese provocations demands more robust efforts by Australia as well as the United States,' he said.
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
‘Remon, that is illegal': Controversial Sydney developer accused of fraudulent rent scheme
Controversial property developer Remon Fayad is alleged to have engaged in 'serious wrongful conduct', after a court heard he'd tried to organise a fraudulent deal to have a tenant inflate a rental agreement so that Fayad could get a better sale price for the business premises. 'Remon, that is illegal,' said his tenant, Charles Assaf, who runs the childcare business Montessori Academy, the NSW Supreme Court has heard. Only months before he jetted off for his multimillion-dollar wedding extravaganza in Florence last July, Fayad, 37, was in a precarious financial position facing bankruptcy proceedings against him and his older brother, Fayad Lee Fayad, over combined tax debts of more than $20 million. Both Fayads are former executives of the family development company Dyldam, which collapsed in 2020. Their father Sam Fayad has the unfortunate record of having the largest bankruptcy in the nation, with personal debts of $2.8 billion. Despite being bankrupt, Sam Fayad and his wife Maria flew first-class to Italy to enjoy their son's four-day wedding festivities, with the flower decorations alone costing more than $500,000. In a Supreme Court judgment handed down last week, Justice Ian Pike ruled that Remon Fayad wrongfully terminated the lease of a Montessori childcare centre in Thallon Street, Carlingford, only weeks after negotiations for Assaf's company, Montessori Academy, to buy the premises broke down. In late 2020, the Montessori childcare centre agreed to lease the ground floor of the Dyldam-related development The Somerset, a largely residential development. The 10-year lease was for $216,000 per annum, which was to increase by 3 per cent annually. There was also an option to renew for two further 10-year periods. The Dyldam-related company that developed the Thallon Street site, C88 Project, followed a well-worn Dyldam pattern in which associated companies, having completed the development and having paid Dyldam handsomely for construction services, then collapse, owing creditors, including contractors and the ATO, millions of dollars.
