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The criminals, MPs and VIPs: How Justin Hemmes went from party-boy billionaire to political operator
As the head of the Merivale empire’s political capital rose, so did the future criminals that swelled the membership ranks of its private club, Level 6.
On one side was Australia’s former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Seven chief executive Ryan Stokes and the Liberal MPs who pay homage to the leader of the Merivale empire each election at his Hermitage mansion in Vaucluse.
On the other are some of Australia’s meth suppliers, cocaine dealers and largest tax fraudsters.
Now an investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes can reveal that as Hemmes’ political capital rose, so did the future criminals that swelled the membership ranks of Merivale’s private club, Level 6.
They included Alisina Razzaghipour, who was later jailed in 2020 for smuggling $10 million worth of cocaine in a plasma-cutting machine from a handler known as “El Chapo”, as well as Michael Snounou, who was sentenced to a decade in prison last year for providing chemicals that flooded into Sydney’s methamphetamine supply, and two of Australia’s largest tax fraudsters: Simon Anquetil and Dev Menon, who swindled the Australian public of more than $100 million through the Plutus Payroll scam…
Liberal powerbroker Michael Photios also features prominently as a complementary member.
The former Liberal MP has spent the past decade wielding his influence over the Liberal Party. Photios’ acolytes include the federal shadow minister for industry and innovation, Alex Hawke, and Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean.
Dubbed “the love rat” by The Daily Telegraph in 2007, Photios celebrated his 50th birthday party in 2011 at the Ivy with his now-wife, Kristina Iantchev. The lobbyist continues to host his lavish Premier Christmas Party each year at the Ivy, with a guest list that features state and federal ministers and media identities.
Merivale staff described Photios and Hemmes as “besties” for the regularity with which they were seen drinking together at Hemmes’ venues. Photios did not respond to requests for comment.
One host, then in her early 20s, was told on her first night in 2013 that her job was to take care of Hemmes and Photios. The host shared messages with a friend about the incident.
“I remember being in Hemmesphere, and Justin came in with his bestie. His name’s Michael Photios,” she told theHerald, The Age and 60 Minutes.
“Then my manager said, OK, for the rest of the night, your job is to sit with Justin and drink with him. I’d never drunk with anyone before, nor had I ever been drunk on the job.
“I just felt really uncomfortable. My managers just kept saying, no, you have to, you have to stay there. That is your job for the rest of the night. I just remember getting really inebriated to the point where I sort of felt like I’ve passed that threshold when you sort of start to panic a little bit.
“And I remember Michael Photios saying, ‘Why don’t you guys just go and have sex?’ ” The host claims Hemmes responded by saying the host was “too innocent” and “too green”.
But the exchange left a lasting impression.
“I felt pretty quickly that women are kind of disposable,” she said.
Lawyers for Hemmes said their “client has no recollection of the alleged events”.
