‘Remon, that is illegal': Controversial Sydney developer accused of fraudulent rent scheme
'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
Perth Now
30-07-2025
- Perth Now
Territory "underwhelming" in tackling domestic violence
A territory government's response to a coroner's report on the deaths of four Aboriginal women fails to address "critical gaps" in combating domestic violence, a coalition of community services says. Coroner Elisabeth Armitage investigated the violent deaths of Kumarn Rubuntja, Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk and Miss Yunupingu. They were among at least 83 Indigenous women killed by their partners in the Northern Territory since 2000. In November the coroner delivered 35 recommendations to address the Territory's domestic violence crisis, saying they reflected initiatives the sector had called for. But in delivering the NT government's response to the report on Tuesday, Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Robyn Cahill said the recommendations were "uninspiring" and failed to hit the mark. She accused the coroner of not being "brave enough" to make recommendations related to Aboriginal culture, noting findings in the report of cultural pressure used as a form of coercive control. Calling out such behaviour could have paved the way "to empower communities to take a stand on this very sensitive and challenging issue," the minister said. She said the government was investing a record $36 million a year to tackle domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV). But a coalition of community services in the sector has in turn accused the government of failing to hit the mark in its response to the coroner's recommendations. The specialist services said critical gaps remained, with no Territory-wide workforce strategy, no long-term indexed funding, no coordinated sector plan across justice, housing, health and child protection and no resourcing for Aboriginal-led initiatives. In a statement they said domestic, family and sexual violence was the NT's biggest criminal issue but the government response was "underwhelming". "The vast majority of people incarcerated in the NT are there for DFSV-related offences, yet the services best placed to prevent this violence, community-based, specialist, trauma-informed programs, continue to be overlooked." One of three coronial recommendations rejected by the government was to establish a peak body, with the NT being the only Australian jurisdiction without one. On the release of the coronial findings in November Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin said a peak body was "a powerfully important tool". "When a sector can come together and speak as one voice and can be engaged with it makes government's job easier," she said. The services group said the government's lack of genuine consultation with the sector was helping make the NT one of the most dangerous places in Australia to be a woman. Cindy Torrens, CEO of the North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service, said real safety for Aboriginal families meant resourcing culturally strong, community-based legal and support services, not just responding after the harm is done. Sally Sievers, CEO of the NT Council of Social Service, said without coordinated system reform, without a stable workforce, without sustained funding for the services already doing the work, more lives would be lost. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
Herald Sun
30-07-2025
- Herald Sun
Air New Zealand appoints Nikhil Ravishankar to replace Greg Foran as CEO
Air New Zealand has promoted its chief digital officer Nikhil Ravishankar as its new chief executive as the board seeks 'a new generation of leadership'. Mr Ravishankar will officially take over the top job from Greg Foran from October 20, four years after joining Air New Zealand from technology company Vector. The airline was Mr Ravishankar's first job in aviation, after an early career spent in telecommunications, tech and on boards including the Auteur influencer network. Air New Zealand chair Dame Therese Walsh said Mr Ravishankar's promotion marked the beginning of the next chapter for the airline, and reflected 'a new generation of leadership for the future'. 'Nikhil brings the mindset and contemporary leadership we need to build on our strong foundations and focus on the future,' said Dame Therese. 'The board undertook an extensive international search and were delighted to see Nikhil come through the process so strongly. His ambition for the airline's future and his people leadership skills, coupled with his pursuit of excellence, digital literacy, global outlook and relationships, and his deep care for the airline and New Zealand shone through.' She said airlines would continue to face 'immense challenges' whether that was 'climate change, customer expectations, technology, cost pressures of geopolitics'. 'Nikhil brings a fresh perspective that is grounded in New Zealand values and a deep knowledge of the airline and critical infrastructure across different sectors,' said Dame Therese. 'He's not afraid to challenge how things are done and ask questions.' Mr Ravishankar said he was 'both thrilled and humbled' to be given the opportunity to lead Air New Zealand, which he described as an 'institution with a deep legacy and a fantastic future'. 'It's a privilege to step into the CEO role and take on that responsibility for our people, our customers, and our country,' said Mr Ravishankar. 'Our airline is among the very best, and I'm excited to help shape what this next stage of Air New Zealand looks like.' Mr Foran will leave in October after a handover to Ravishankar, but as yet the former US Walmart CEO has not revealed his next move. When he joined Air New Zealand in February 2020, Mr Foran faced crisis after crisis, with Covid-related border closures all but shutting down the airline completely within five weeks of his appointment. Since the pandemic, the airline has continued to face challenges, the biggest of which concerned shortages in engine components, resulting in the grounding of up to 11 aircraft. Full year guidance issued in April, indicated Air New Zealand expected to take a substantial hit from the groundings with earnings before tax in the range of NZ$150m and NZ$190m (AU$137m to AU$173m). The 63-year-old said it was entirely his decision to leave, adding the 'board was very keen for him to stay' but he felt he 'had another itch to scratch'. 'I'm not too sure what that would be, but I'm excited, and, you know, I've worked and lived in five different countries now, and enjoy it, enjoy going to work, enjoy difficult challenges and this has been one of those,' he told The Australian in May. His legacy to the airline will be a new cabin layout for the fleet of Boeing 787s, intended to help Air New Zealand remain competitive on trans-Pacific routes. Next year, the carrier will take delivery of two new 787s fitted with the innovative Skynest feature — offering economy passengers the chance of a lie-down on ultra-long-haul flights. The six-bed stack which will replace two middle rows of economy seats, follows the success of the airline's 'Skycouch'. Mr Ravishankar is the second new airline CEO in the region this year, following Virgin Australia's promotion of Dave Emerson this year after the departure of Jayne Hrdlicka. Originally published as Air New Zealand taps insider Nikhil Ravishankar to replace CEO Greg Foran Read related topics: Climate Change
The Age
26-07-2025
- The Age
America's shame is that Trump can remain shameless
A few days earlier a separate Journal story reported on a sexually suggestive letter it said Trump had sent the financier for the occasion of Epstein's 50th birthday. The letter refers to secrets and has a sketch of a naked woman on it. Trump denies he wrote it and is suing the Journal for defamation. Loading On Wednesday, The New York Times published a piece titled 'I Covered the Epstein Case for Decades. These are 9 Questions We Actually Need Answered.' Among the unanswered questions journalist Barry Levine lists are queries about how Epstein made so much money (his estate was worth $600 million), whether he might have been an intelligence asset (which was claimed as an unverified excuse for the leniency of a 2008 plea deal that ended a federal investigation into Epstein), questions over the nature of Epstein's relationship with former US president Bill Clinton (who also appears in the Epstein private jet flight logs), and queries over why the autopsy on Epstein was never made public (many people doubt the report's finding that he died by suicide while in prison). The MAGA heartland has long held as an article of faith that Trump would release the Epstein files when he was in a position to do so. Trump has responded with a frenzy of social media posting, apparently to distract from pressing Epstein-related matters, and has reacted angrily when asked questions about Epstein by reporters. In an apparent concession, Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche interviewed Epstein's convicted accomplice and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. But Blanche was previously Trump's private attorney for his hush-money trial and two federal criminal cases. Suspicions inevitably arise that he might be predisposed to protect the interests of the president. Loading It is a scenario worthy of a political thriller – The Da Vinci Code set in the post-#MeToo era. Trump's history of sexual misconduct is well known, spans decades and has been successfully tested in court. Comedian Stephen Colbert calls it the president's 'long public history of pervitude'. Paramount cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week, with many commentators concluding it was at least partly due to the host's mockery of Trump. Undeterred, Colbert – who will continue to present the show until May – played a tape of Trump talking to US radio shock jock Howard Stern in 2006. After boasting he could easily bed a 24-year-old, the then-60-year-old Trump was asked if he had an 'age limit' when it came to women. 'No, I don't have an age limit,' Trump told Stern, before correcting himself – slightly. 'You know, I don't want to be, like … with 12-year-olds.' It is a truism that Trump has redefined the terms of shamelessness in public life with his sexual exploits, brags about sexual assault, and the judicial findings against him of sexual assault. None of it has made any difference to his popularity among his base. If anything, the moral outrage over Trump's doings only galvanises his fervent supporters in his defence. Loading Whatever is in the Epstein files regarding Trump may indeed be shameful for the president by any objective measure, but that measure no longer exists in American public life. Few observers of American politics believe Trump could be damaged substantially by further revelations of sexual misconduct. Those in his base who are pressuring Trump to release the files are not suspicious about the president's potential sexual wrongdoing. They are piqued by a betrayal of faith – they believed Trump was the guy who would work to unmask the deep-state Democrat paedophiles on their behalf. On Friday, The Australian Financial Review published a long interview with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky has become a latter-day feminist heroine, whose public shaming following her affair with then-president Bill Clinton was epic and unprecedented. Her notoriety was such that, for a decade or so after the event, Lewinsky struggled to get a date or a job interview. The affair was consensual but the exploitative power dynamics at play – she was a 22-year-old intern, he was the world's most powerful man – are undeniable in the contemporary context. Clinton lied about the affair and it almost ended his presidency. But I do not think you could say any substantial moral shame adheres to him, all these decades later, from the affair. Meanwhile, Lewinsky has spent the rest of her life – she is now 52 – trying to expunge her shame and to make amends for it in the court of public opinion. It seems likely that the public has not been told the whole story about the people and institutions that enabled Epstein to offend against vulnerable girls, at such scale, over decades. But you don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to believe that whatever comes out, the shame of it all will defy gravity and bounce off some, while sticking to others.
