Jean Nassif’s property empire Toplace goes into administration

The construction empire of fugitive property developer Jean Nassif has gone into administration, leaving potentially thousands of buyers who pre-purchased apartments in limbo.

Sydney property developer Jean Nassif, above, who is in Lebanon after fleeing Australia in December last year. Picture: Liam Mendes

Fugitive Sydney property developer Jean Nassif’s empire has collapsed amid fraud allegations, stranding potentially thousands of residents who pre-purchased apartments with mortgages but nowhere to live.

Administrators from DVT Group have been appointed to ­Toplace, which claims to have built more than 30,000 properties across Sydney, just days after a stop-work ban was reimposed by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal after building defects were uncovered at resident sites in Castle Hill and Canterbury in the city’s inner west.

Sources with knowledge of the matter said lawyers for Toplace had spoken with Mr Nassif, who is in Lebanon after fleeing Australia in December last year, before administrators were appointed on Friday night.

DVT Group principal Anthony Resnick said significant assets and liabilities had to be investigated before Toplace’s creditors could be updated on what would happen next at the company.

“We’re appointed as administrators and we’re going to do whatever we can as quickly as possible to develop an understanding of the asset/liability stakeholder position in the company and group,” he said.

“We will be reporting to a creditors meeting in the next week as to prospects generally.”

NSW police in June issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr Nassif over allegations the Sydney property developer used fraudulent pre-sale documents for an apartment complex in the northwest suburb of Castle Hill to obtain a $150m loan from Westpac.

His lawyer daughter Ashlyn Nassif has been charged with falsifying documents relating to the presale of apartments in the apartment complex.

Toplace has several resident apartment complexes and commercial developments under construction across Sydney and there are likely hundreds of consultants and subcontractors who worked on the unfinished projects who have yet to be paid.

A source close to the matter said work had slowed on Toplace’s projects over the past three months while attempts to contact Mr Nassif had been futile.

This month, Toplace had its building licences suspended for the second time by the NCAT, preventing Mr Nassif or companies he manages completing works on existing or under-development contracts across the state.

The NCAT revoked stay orders made in January on Mr Nassif and Toplace, taken out to lift their suspensions to allow them to remedy building defects and honour contracts, pending appeal.

Lawyers for Fair Trading NSW argued for the revocation on the basis of the warrant out for Mr Nassif’s arrest, related to allegations of “dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage in the amount of a $150m loan” relating to contracts on the sale of land at one of its projects.

Mr Nassif and Toplace were hit in December with a 10-year building licence suspension and a permanent revocation after a probe into their properties allegedly uncovered 40 building defects across residential sites in Castle Hill and Canterbury.

The NSW Building Commissioner found “extensive signs of cracking” in the basement of the Atmosphere complex in Castle Hill and blocked residents from moving into the 900-apartment complex.

Defects identified in the firm’s 276-apartment building in Charles St, Canterbury, included inadequate drainage resulting in uncontrolled water entering the carpark, balustrades not adequately secured and fire sprinklers obstructed by pipes.

It also identified roof slabs that had not been sufficiently re­inforced to support current and future anticipated loads.

One resident in June reported “cracking sounds” in another Sydney apartment complex constructed by Toplace Group.

Earlier this year, Mr Nassif was called to front a NSW parliamentary inquiry into allegations of impropriety at Hills Shire Council but declined to attend as he said he would be in a remote part of Lebanon recuperating from a medical procedure.

Additional reporting: Glen Norris, Chris Herde