Boon ‘Dennis’ Teen: Businessman avoids jail for $3.4m ‘kickback’ in Melbourne property deal

A “highly regarded” businessman and community leader has learnt his fate for paying out a kickback during an international property deal.

A Melbourne businessman has avoided jail after helping to orchestrate an illegitimate $3.4m payment to Malaysian intermediaries while selling property to the Malaysian government.

Boon “Dennis” Teen, 72, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday as judge Michael O’Connell found the unique features of the case and Teen’s personal circumstances justified a non-custodial sentence.

Instead, the Malaysian-born community leader was handed a 21-month jail term fully suspended for 21 months on a single charge of false accounting.

Boon ‘Dennis’ Teen walked free on Tuesday morning. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

The court was told Teen had partnered up with acquaintances to purchase land and develop student accommodation in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield in the late 2000s.

But the project hit financial difficulties and, after months attempting to refinance, he began to look for someone to purchase the project.

By October 2012, the Malaysian government investment fund MARA had agreed to purchase the development for $17,850,000.

Teen was strung along by intermediates negotiating on behalf of MARA for months before, in February the next year, they said there was an “internal agreement” to buy the property for $22,600,000.

The price increase – $4.75m – was to be paid by Teen to the intermediaries.

After the property settled in March 2013, Teen assisted the intermediaries to create fraudulent invoices to make the payment appear to be a legitimate business expense and tax deductible.

Judge O’Connell said $3.4m of the money paid, or three of the four invoices, had no legitimate basis and was a “kickback” to ensure the deal went through.

“You or your company did not receive any benefit from the inflated amount paid for by the Malaysian government,” he said.

“This was not a victimless crime, the people of Malaysia lost $3.4m.”

He was supported in court by his wife. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

Judge O’Connell told the court that he had been persuaded by Teen’s defence that the fraudulent agreement was put to him when he was “vulnerable”.

He said Teen’s business was dealing with cashflow problems, a collapsed builder and delays to the construction, with Teen spending more than 12 months looking to solve the issue.

“Your approach had been entirely legitimate,” he said.

“The internal agreement was put to you when you were in a vulnerable position having been strung along for many months.”

The court was told 10 personal references had been supplied to the court describing Teen as a community leader, hardworking and generous.

His family, although shocked by the charges, remained supportive, the judge said.

Judge O’Connell said he had been persuaded that the “unique circumstances of the case” along with the 12 years since the offending and Teen’s precarious ill health mitigated the offending.

Teen walked free from court after Judge O’Connell warned that if Teen committed any further offending over the next 21 months he may have to serve the term of imprisonment.

“Yes, sir,” he said.

Originally published as Boon ‘Dennis’ Teen: Businessman avoids jail for $3.4m ‘kickback’ in Melbourne property deal