Ashlyn Nassif, the 32-year-old daughter of fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, has pleaded guilty to providing false or misleading information to obtain a $150m construction loan from Westpac. In a Sydney court on Monday, her lawyer argued that she acted under pressure from her father, who fled Australia in 2022.
Court hears of coercive control
Murugan Thangaraj SC, representing Ashlyn Nassif, told Burwood local court that her father, the head of the failed construction firm Toplace, exerted coercive control over her. He said Jean Nassif would tell his daughter to lose weight, undergo weight-reducing surgery, or have cosmetic surgery so "she could look better and he could show her off." Thangaraj described her as "hardly the glamorous heiress as portrayed."
The lawyer also revealed that Jean Nassif's ex-wife had described experiencing a decade of coercive control, which he argued was consistent with how he treated his daughter. Ashlyn Nassif, who has accepted her role in the offence, is due to be sentenced after the hearing.
Loan used for Sydney apartment towers
The $150m loan from Westpac was used to construct three apartment towers in Sydney's north-west in 2021. The prosecution has argued that Ashlyn Nassif knew the purchasers and contractors at Toplace did not meet the definition of an "at arm's length" transaction, a claim the defence has disputed.
Thangaraj told the court that before his departure, Jean Nassif told his daughter he was "desperate" for the Westpac loan. "She agreed to do what she should not have and she's explained how she succumbed to the pressure of her father," he said. "If she wasn't working for him or if he wasn't her father, she would never have committed this offence."
Father's legal troubles
Jean Nassif, now 58, fled Australia for rural Lebanon in 2022 and has previously denied wrongdoing. He had offered to appear at the court via video link on Friday but produced a medical certificate to excuse himself. NSW police are pursuing him after a two-year fraud investigation, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Additionally, 57 companies linked with Toplace are in administration.
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) is also investigating allegations that NSW Liberal power brokers took a $2m payment from Jean Nassif in breach of the NSW Electoral Funding Act. Thangaraj questioned how any person could leave their child to face charges for his company's benefit, saying, "What does that say about who he is."
Ashlyn Nassif was due to be sentenced on Monday afternoon, with the court hearing her lawyer's arguments about her father's influence.
