A loving father, handy with his fists

A FORMER KGB colonel, the Sultan of Brunei, Alan Bond's former bankruptcy adviser Jim Byrnes and property developer Ron Medich: businessman Michael Loch McGurk had an eclectic and colourful bunch of associates.

A FORMER KGB colonel, the Sultan of Brunei, Alan Bond's former bankruptcy adviser Jim Byrnes and property developer Ron Medich: businessman Michael Loch McGurk had an eclectic and colourful bunch of associates.

He was a loving father of four but was known to be handy with his fists and wouldn't shy from a street fight.

He was a former light fitting salesman from Edinburgh who clawed his way up to the life of a property developer and somewhat dubious money lender.

In business, he mixed with the big league and was known to have strong political connections but he allegedly smashed a metal bar over the head of valuer Stuart Rowan.

It was said that there was no one Mr McGurk would not do business with. "If there was an opportunity for money to be made, he would get involved," said one associate.

In his Scottish lilt, he could tell a good story.

Take the one about the 400-year-old copy of the Koran. Kept in a jewel-studded silver case the size of a matchbox, Mr McGurk and two of his business associates bought it from a retired KGB colonel in Russia in 2005.

They brought it back to Australia and thought they had a deal to sell it to Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei who wanted it as a wedding gift for his latest bride.

When the $10 million deal fell through, Mr McGurk and his associates unsuccessfully sued the Sultan in the Supreme Court.

Officially said to be 45, Mr McGurk was lax with the detail on official documents filed for the web of 15 companies, mainly finance, property, management and investment, of which he was a director. He and his Sydney-born wife Kimberley were also shareholders of 11 of them.

Mr McGurk's various dates of birth are spread over 10 years.

Private investigator Warren Mallard, employed by Mr McGurk, said he worked on a number of "bizarre" cases for his employer.

"I think he was two different people . . . I saw the soft side of him, the generous side of him and I also saw the very firm business hand and he had to deal with a lot of people who were not always playing by the rules," Mr Mallard said on radio yesterday.

Mr McGurk was part of a consortium that put together a $30 million offer for Currawong, the idyllic former workers' holiday retreat on Pittwater owned by Unions NSW.

Mysteriously, the offer was rejected in favour of a $15 million offer.