iProsperity chief Michael Gu’s ultra-luxury Sydney apartment to hit market

An ultra-luxury brand new Sydney apartment purchased by international fugitive Michael Gu is about to hit the market with a price tag of at least $8.5m.

The outlook from Opera Residences at Sydney’s Bennelong Point,

An ultra-luxury brand new Sydney apartment purchased by international fugitive Michael Gu is about to hit the market with a price tag of at least $8.5m.

Gu, who fled offshore after the collapse of his iProsperity Group owing investors about $350m, ­secretly purchased the opulent three-bedroom apartment for just over $6m in the Opera Residences development at Sydney’s Bennelong Point in 2016, when the project launched.

The 104-unit complex commanded some of the highest apartment prices seen in Sydney and was developed by Macrolink and Landream. The Asian developers are understood to have struck a deal directly with Gu to purchase the apartment, negating any real estate agency involvement in the sale.

Michael Gu.

Settlement of the Opera Residences apartments, which include the $26m paid for a four-bedroom penthouse and $27m for another that sold to businessman Robert Salteri and wife Kelly, is about to take place as the developers put the finishing touches to the ultra-luxury building facing Circular Quay.

Since the iProsperity collapse last year, most of Gu’s residential real estate has been sold off, including his modern home in Superba Pde, Mosman on Sydney’s north shore. It netted about $12m.

The contemporary Mosman house was purchased by Robert Mead, head of PIMCO. Amid the collapse of iProsperity, the Mosman home was covered in Chinese language graffiti.

Gu, a former Sydney telco salesman, purchased the house in 2015 for $10m and fled Sydney last year. His whereabouts is unknown.

A house Gu had purchased for his mother at David Place, in nearby Seaforth, is also understood to have sold.

iProsperity’s Rolls Royce Wraith was sold for $502,000 to recoup investor funds.

Other Gu sell-offs include a Rolls-Royce Wraith that was sold to help recoup investor funds, with a purchaser paying $502,000 for the vehicle that had been valued as high as $700,000.

The Rolls was apparently used by Gu to chauffeur wealthy investors and featured a lavish mandarin-coloured leather interior.

It was equipped with the deluxe “Wraith Package” including a driver assistance pack with night vision and pedestrian recognition, RR-embossed leather interior and lambs wool foot mats.

Gu did not spend much time behind the wheel, with the Rolls-Royce’s showing 1039km on the clock. It features a 6.6-litre direct injection twin turbo engine.

iProsperity hit the headlines with its attempt to buy Australia’s largest hotel portfolio, 23 Accor branded hotels several years ago. However, the deal was aborted.

Gu fled Australia in July last year.

Administrator Cor Cordis did not return The Australian’s calls last night.