Colourful company of Aussie businessman Michael Ibrahim revealed
Behind-the-scenes photos show another side of Aussie businessman Michael Ibrahim’s life - including him posing with a former Comanchero boss who was later killed in a gangland hit.
National
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The man behind the big talk of a star-studded desert movie studio “Arabiawood” has kept some colourful company while spruiking a string of unsuccessful business ventures.
For the first time it can be revealed Michael Ibrahim was in a number of failed ventures with Samoan-born Nikolao Tauiliili Misa, who ran a security company but is now defending charges of international drug trafficking and directing an a criminal organisation. Mr Ibrahim is not involved in the criminal matters.
The 50-year-old carefully cultivates social media images of himself as a successful “tycoon” rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s richest men, owning a horse stud, going on huge spending sprees and floating about on superyachts.
Others have questioned which of Mr Ibrahim’s grandiose schemes have ever come to fruition.
“He just blows hot air, using profile of photos of himself with Australian politicians and celebs to get a foot in the door,” one former business associate said.
“It is always the same modus operandi.”
For the first time behind-the-scenes photos are painting a very different picture of Mr Ibrahim’s life including him posing with former Comanchero boss Mick Hawi who he called “family”, and who was later murdered by others in a hail of bullets as he left a Sydney gym. Other photos have surfaced of Mr Ibrahim posing with another former Comanchero member, Ali Bazzi in 2018. Mr Ibrahim sent the photos to associates boasting about his social connections.
At the time he was still promoting his failed Duqm Beach Resort in Oman which was to be built on the same plot of land, he is now proposing for the Arabiawood movie studio – which has already stalled due to “construction supply issues”.
And now new information has emerged about a string of Mr Ibrahim’s other unsuccessful ventures which stretch across the world from Australia to Samoa and the Middle Eastern countries of Qatar and Oman.
A video has surfaced of Mr Ibrahim being interviewed on Samoan television with Nikolao Misa about an ambitious plan to export food products from Samoa to Qatar and to promote rugby in Qatar.
Mr Ibrahim said he was trying “to build a bridge from Samoa” to Qatar. But associates have said despite lots of talk nothing ever eventuated.
It can also be revealed Mr Ibrahim sought investors for a proposed a string of business ventures including sending meat and fresh produce from Australia to Qatar and Oman which failed to get off the ground, according to details seen by News Corp.
Michael Mouammar Ibrahim has a penchant for posting pics of himself with well-known figures who have nothing to do with his business ventures.
At one stage Mr Ibrahim was sending around photos of himself with Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim who Michael claimed had taken him to lunch.
But when contacted for comment, John Ibrahim said the photo was taken at a football lunch event – he certainly didn’t take Michael for lunch – and he doesn’t even know him.
But Mr Ibrahim was certainly acting as if his ventures had met with success posting photos of extravagant shopping trips to Louis Vuitton with now ex-wife Jade and children, where he claimed the manager had closed the store so the family could shop.
There are also pictures of lavish gifts of diamond earrings and rings for wife Jade as well as pictures taken in front of Ferrari’s, and boasts of a huge New Year’s Eve party on somebody’s super yacht.
It has been well documented that he unsuccessfully tried to buy an NRL team on behalf of Qatari billionaire Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani.
But he now appears to be having troubles in Qatar despite his big talk of the joint venture with several Middle Eastern royal families including in Qatar. It has been revealed that his companies have been frozen or deregistered for not paying their registration fees in two countries.
Company documents show Mr Ibrahim’s Australian companies, MJ Masha Pty Ltd and Aqeeq Holdings Pty Ltd, have been deregistered by the corporate regulator ASIC.
Mr Ibrahim’s company MJ Masha LLC in Qatar, has also been fined US$23,000 ($A35,256) plus interest after the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) took action against the company for failing to pay its registration fees for three years. The company’s registration has been frozen by the QFCA.
When asked to comment on the situation with those companies, Mr Ibrahim has said “unfortunately I cannot discuss more in detail because of my personal situation.”
Mr Ibrahim has vehemently denied the new claims, which he described as extremely false.
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