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Jean and Nissy Nassif make no secret of living the high life in Sydney's west. But Mr Nassif has dug himself
Cashed up property developer who has blocked access to 700 car spaces with his three-storey garage now flaunts the yellow Lamborghini he bought for his glamorous Blonde Wife ;-)
Jean Nassif, Owner and Director of Toplace, is the founder of the Wiping Tears Charitable Foundation. Together with wife, Nissy Nassif, they're dedicating their ...
Property developer Tony Merhi's company Merc Shoppingtown donated $5,000 to the Canberra Liberals.
AAP: PAUL MILLER
A group of Sydney property developers have donated thousands of dollars to the ACT branch of the Liberal Party despite appearing to have no connection with the capital.
Developers are banned from making political donations in New South Wales, but are not in the ACT.
Since last month four companies registered to developers in Sydney have donated a total of $20,000 to the Canberra Liberals.
The ACT Labor Government said it had no record of any of the companies ever working, or applying for work, in the territory.
One of the developers, Tony Merhi, previously appeared before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over allegations he had bypassed his state's ban on developer donations by donating to a Liberal Party slush fund.
No adverse findings were made regarding Mr Merhi. The ABC does not claim the two alleged incidents are connected.
In response to questions from the ABC, regarding the donations and the possibility the Canberra Liberals were being used to avoid the NSW ban, the party released a short statement.
"The Canberra Liberals receive donations from many different individuals and businesses. All donations are permitted under ACT donations laws," the statement read.
Merc Shoppingtown, Toplace, J&M Nassif Property Group and Statewide Planning all made one-off $5,000 donations to the Liberals in June.
Details on the companies are limited, but Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) records showed they were registered respectively to Tony Merhi, Jean Nassif, John and Maroun Nassif, and Hoda Demian.
The ABC has been unable to contact any of the companies or their directors, other than Toplace, who declined to comment.
Money being moved between branches 'not new'
The NSW Electoral Commission said the "risk of money being moved between branches of political parties [was] not a new one".
"The NSW Electoral Commission has advocated reform in this area, as has the Panel of Experts on Political Donations more recently," the Commission said in a statement.
But the Commission said if the ACT Liberal Party chose to transfer the money to their New South Wales colleagues there would be a cap on how quickly they could do it.
"The ACT branch of the Liberal Party can donate this financial year $5,900 to the NSW branch for state purposes and another $5,900 for local government purposes," the Commission said.
The ACT Liberal Party deputy leader Alistair Coe dismissed the issue as a storm in a tea cup.
Mr Coe said the donations were linked to the party's federal campaign.
"So our federal campaign does have different dealings with people right across the ACT and indeed Australia, so to that end those donations are linked to the federal campaign rather than territory politics," he said.
Ms Ficarra was stood down over the allegations, despite both her and Mr Merhi denying any wrongdoing at the time. Merhi claimed he was duped into making the payments.
For legal reasons ICAC later dropped its investigation into Ms Ficarra.
The ABC does not suggest Mr Merhi knew anything of that arrangement.
Last week's update to the ACT's political donation disclosures also shows the Canberra Liberals received one of their largest ever individual donations, $30,000 from Paul Marks, as well as a $15,000 donation from the Victorian branch of the party.
