‘Generous’ Fadi Ibrahim avoids jail over loan to brother

The final chapter of one of Australia’s most successful undercover police operations has been written.

The final domino has fallen in one of Australia’s most successful undercover police operations that took down members of Sydney’s Ibrahim clan.

On Friday, Fadi Ibrahim — the younger brother of Kings Cross identity turned TV show producer John Ibrahim — was released immediately after being sentenced to a 14-month suspended jail sentence.

Ibrahim, 50, had pleaded guilty to one count of dealing with money that was reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime.

It was in relation to a repayment of almost $600,000 that he received from his younger brother Michael Ibrahim in July 2017.

Outside court, Fadi highlighted the work of lawyers Simon Buchen SC and Greg Goold to keep him out of jail.

Fadi Ibrahim on Friday. Picture: NewsWire

Ibrahim avoided jail. Picture: NewsWire

“I want to thank my legal team for all their hard work,” he said.

The payment to Fadi came after he lent Michael $800,000 in 2017 in an attempt to help his younger brother set himself up financially after being released from jail, the court heard.

Michael used the money in a $1.8 million buy-up of illegal cigarettes that were being smuggled to Australia.

Judge Chris O’Brien accepted that Fadi had no idea that the money was being used for criminal purposes and that it was a loan made out of “familial generosity”.

Being dragged into the loan was disastrous for Fadi.

It landed him in jail and left him $800,000 out of pocket. The authorities seized the almost $600,000 and Michael never repaid the remaining $200,000.

Despite this, Mr Goold said the brothers remained close.

“He’s upset by it,” Mr Goold said. “But they are brothers first and always will be. This is just a glitch in the relationship and Fadi is happy to move on.”

Michael had no idea the man paving the way for him to smuggle the millions of cigarettes was an undercover cop.

He was jailed for 25 years after the undercover got him on the hook for smuggling about two tonnes of illegal drugs and millions of cigarettes.

Ibrahim walking into court with friend Ben Scott behind him. Picture: NewsWire

The operative charmed many of the family and their associates in an 18-month investigation that saw him join them on a holiday to Thailand.

John Ibrahim was at the holiday and several of the meetings but was not charged and there is no suggestion that he engaged in criminal activity.

Fadi and Michael were among about 20 of their associates who were arrested while partying in Dubai on August 8, 2017.

Fadi was the final person to be sentenced over the investigation.

Fadi was kept in a Sydney jail with his bail refused for 51 days in a case that dragged on for seven years, the court heard on Friday.

The court heard Fadi had been pressured by Michael and John over the money.

Judge O’Brien told the court this was supported by a phone call between Fadi and Shayda on July 19, 2017, which was secretly recorded by police, where Shayda questioned why her husband had to loan money to Michael.

The court heard Fadi told his wife that he said to Michael, “I do everything for you, everything you ask, I never say no”.

Fadi also said on the call, “I borrowed money on my house for you to lend you, to help you out. You know what I mean to help him out just to get him on his feet.”

Judge O’Brien told the court that Shayda gave evidence describing the “pressure” Fadi “was under in respect to the money from both Michael and his older brother John.”

The Judge also accepted evidence that Fadi made the loans at a time where his judgement was impaired because of prescription drugs he was taking to deal with the health impacts of being shot six times in 2009.

“I am satisfied that this offence falls below the middle but not at the bottom of the range for offending,” Judge O’Brien told the court.

He sentenced Fadi to 14 months jail but released him immediately upon suspending the sentence on the condition he lodge $5000 and be of good behaviour for three years.

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