Police have raided a series of houses connected to failed financial guru Anthony Ghalloub.
Neighbours said that police were at Mr Ghalloub's rented townhouse in Warriewood for most of Tuesday afternoon and left carrying what appeared to be computer hard drives and bags of financial records.
The search warrants were executed on behalf of Mr Ghalloub's bankruptcy trustee, police media confirmed.
Fairfax Media recently revealed that despite having no qualifications, no office and no staff, an astonishing $120 million moved in and out of Mr Ghalloub's bank accounts since 2007.
Since the late 1990s, Mr Ghalloub ran a private investment scheme which returned investors – mainly family and friends from the Lebanese Maronite Christian community – a staggering 30 to 55 per cent a year.
When Mr Ghalloub's scheme collapsed in late 2008 some of Sydney's wealthiest property developers were out of pocket. They included John Sahyoun, 78, who is rumoured to have invested $11 million; Sam Fayad, 55, from construction giant Dyldam who invested $10 million and Ray Raad, 55, who reportedly invested $7 million.
The murky world of Mr Ghalloub came to light in March, 2012, when police found a would-be extortionist had killed himself in the bathroom of Mr Ghalloub's West Ryde house.
He told the police that night that for years his investment scheme had been going well until "one of my clients gets into trouble with the law ... that's when it started to go sour." The client in question was Mourad Saba, a concreter who Mr Ghalloub had never met, yet was happy to lend a whopping $6,090,597.
When he declared himself bankrupt in 2013 Mr Ghalloub had only one listed debtor: Mourad Saba.
Mr Ghalloub's loans to Mr Saba were organised by Sam Fayad. The millions of dollars ended up with Mr Saba's cousin Eamad, who was arrested in August, 2008 over the importation of precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of "ice", which would have had a street value of up to $112 million. Eamad Saba's was jailed along with Ibrahim Jidah, who was Mourad's business partner.
Mr Ghalloub later told the NSW Crime Commission that Mr Fayad had asked him to organise the loans. He also told police that he had given the bank cheques to Mr Fayad to give Mr Saba.
Mr Fayad, through his solicitor Ramy Qutami, denied this saying he had "no direct knowledge" of these loans or "any money that was used to fund any criminal activity".
Following the arrests, Mr Ghalloub's accounts were frozen and his investment scheme collapsed.
At the time Mr Ghalloub was lending money to Mr Saba, he was having to borrow money himself.
Mortgage documents show that in early 2008, Mr Ghalloub and his wife Veronica borrowed $1 million from Famta, the family company of Frank and Angela Giunta.
The Giuntas' house in Wharf Road, Gladesville, and their tile shop in Petersham, were searched by police on Tuesday. "It's none of your business," Mr Giunta told Fairfax Media when asked about the Ghalloub loan. Fairfax Media is not alleging any wrongdoing by the Giuntas.
Also searched was the home of Mr Ghalloub's parents Raymond and Nola. Their Mercedes Benz was firebombed outside their Carlingford home only months after the body of Jean Govinden was found in Mr Ghalloub's bathroom.
Although Mr Ghalloub told his bankruptcy trustee that he had divorced his wife and given her a property settlement, Fairfax Media found the couple still living together. "What does it matter where I live?" said Mrs Gahlloub when contacted on Wednesday.
