Photo that will infuriate 20,000 homeowners left out of pocket by Jean Nassif

Fugitive property developer Jean Nassif was spotted in the VIP section of a casino in Lebanon on Monday night, smoking a cigar and joking with his four minders as he slapped away on a machine.

This is fugitive property developer Jean Nassif’s version of being bankrupt: feeding wads of cash into multiple poker machines, surrounded by personal security guards.

Nassif, 56, was spotted in the VIP section of a casino in Lebanon on Tuesday night, puffing on a cigar and joking with his four minders as he slapped away on gaming machines.

A patron in the venue sent the photographs to The Daily Telegraph to “show all the people in Australia he has a lot of money still”.

Nassif fled Sydney in December 2022 when his property empire Toplace Group collapsed, leaving debts up to $1 billion and more than 20,000 homeowners, tradies and employees out of pocket.

He is also wanted by NSW Police over allegations of $150 million property fraud and falsifying sales contracts to secure a bank loan, but with no extradition treaty between Lebanon and Australia, arresting him is difficult.

Jean Nassif spotted on Tuesday night gambling at a casino in Lebanon. Picture: Supplied

Nassif was surrounded by four security guards at the casino. Picture: Supplied

Jean Nassif in hospital in a hospital bed somewhere in Lebanon back in July 2023, when the fugitive Sydney property developer said he was suffering from ‘anxiety, depression and stress’.

In a radio interview last week, Nassif claimed he wanted to fix the mess he left behind, but he is suffering from a serious “brain infection” and undergoing treatment which prevented him travelling.

Last year, he claimed to have been diagnosed with “anxiety and depression” and couldn’t fly.

“I have been suffering anxiety, depression and stress ... But I am fighting back. I will fix my problems,” Nassif said last year.

The onlooker inside the Beirut casino said Nassif could be found there most nights, and gambled until the establishment closes at 3am.

Administrators are in the process of selling off any remaining assets Nassif has in Australia, including the waterfront home his estranged wife and three children live in, in Sydney’s inner west.

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