Nasser declined to answer specific questions on property dealings and the trust structure changes, instead providing a general response.
“Since ceasing her criminal law practice Zena has had no contact with any of her former clients,” she said. “Zena is a director of a number of companies including trustee companies of family trusts.”
RealWise Group Holdings DT is also the ultimate parent company of RealWise Finance. An investigation by the Herald, Age and Financial Review last month revealed RealWise Finance was bankrolling a multimillion-dollar property development in Sydney’s west, which was recommended to White by Nasser’s ex-husband, Mark Merhi.
Richard White with wife Zena Nasser. The couple married in July.
Merhi is a 50-year-old failed property developer who left for Dubai while development companies faced debts of $80 million. He was a suspect in a firebombing investigation in the mid-2000s.
RealWise Finance lent millions of dollars and registered mortgages on a development on Horsley Drive, Fairfield and another on Raglan Road, Auburn. Both properties are owned by an associate of Merhi, Ahmad Ahmad. Merhi’s failing company also sold the Fairfield property development to Ahmad’s company for $13.5 million in 2020, a $5.5 million loss compared to when Merhi bought it in 2016.
In an October 2022 report, liquidator Stephen Hathway, from Helm Advisory, told creditors it may have been an uncommercial transaction as the site “had a potential sale value of $23,300,000”.
Six days after questions were sent to White’s lawyers regarding the loans and property developments, the billionaire and Nasser set up three new companies, which they jointly own.
Both White and Nasser are directors and equal shareholders of 366 The Horsley Drive Fairfield DT Pty Ltd, 16-22 Raglan Road Auburn DT Pty and 7 Second Avenue Blacktown DT Pty, the address of another property associated with Ahmad which was bought from a Merhi firm.
White said these companies were set up because he agreed with Ahmad to acquire the three properties before receiving questions because they needed additional funds above loan amounts to be completed.
“At this stage, we have an ‘agreement in principle’ subject to formal documentation and completion of each of the sales,” he said.
He said his finance team and external lawyers led the acquisitions and valuations had been done at arm’s length.
“We recently established three discretionary trusts in which each of the properties will be transferred to once the sales are completed. Large property developments are typically structured within a special purpose vehicle (SPV),” White said.
“These property acquisitions once completed, will be long-term property holdings with the beneficiaries of each of the three discretionary trusts being our immediate family including our children and do not include any other parties.”
White said he has no more dealings with Ahmad or Merhi.
