Murderer Ron Medich and his family have reaped almost $500million from the sale of a block of land next to the new Western Sydney International Airport.
Ron and Roy Medich paid just $3.5million for the 344 hectares of farmland in 1996 and the single-storey brick home that stands on it was last rented for $280 a week.
The Badgerys Creek block on Elizabeth Drive – one of the largest bordering the airport – sold for $499,950,000 to a consortium with links to a Chinese billionaire.
Sales records show the vendors were Roy Medich Properties Pty Ltd and CSPA Properties Pty Ltd, of which 73-year-old jailed killer Ron Medich is shareholder.
Murderer Ron Medich and his family have reaped almost $500million from the sale of a block of land next to the new Western Sydney International Airport. Medich is pictured ahead of being jailed for a minimum 30 years for ordering the killing of business rival Michael McGurk
Ron and Roy Medich paid just $3.5million for the 344 hectares of farmland (pictured) on Elizabeth Drive at Badgerys Creek in 1996. The brothers bought the land from the CSIRO
The Badgerys Creek block on Elizabeth Drive – one of the largest bordering the airport – was sold by the Medich brothers for $499,950,000 to a consortium with links to a Chinese billionaire. An artist’s impression of the new airport is pictured
The buyer was Roberts Jones Funds Management, directed by two low-profile Chinese-Australians, and the deal was settled on February 19.
The sale, 25 years after the Mediches bought the land from the CSIRO, represents a windfall for both brothers but particularly for his older sibling Ron.
Ron Medich is in the maximum security Lithgow Correctional Centre serving a minimum 30-year sentence for ordering the contract killing of business rival Michael McGurk.
Mr McGurk, a Scottish-born father-of-four, was shot once in the head outside his home at Cremorne on Sydney’s lower north shore on September 3, 2009.
Medich had paid $500,000 for 51-year-old Mr McGurk to be killed after fighting with him over millions of dollars in and out of court for years.
During his murder trial Medich complained he had only $1,000 in his bank account and his estranged wife Odetta would not give him ‘one red cent’.
After his imprisonment in June 2018 the assets of Ron Medich Properties were transferred into CSPA Properties, with his son Peter as director.
During his murder trial Medich (pictured) complained he had only $1,000 in his bank account and his estranged wife Odetta would not give him ‘one red cent’
Michael McGurk, a Scottish-born father-of-four, was shot once in the head outside his home at Cremorne on Sydney’s lower north shore on September 3, 2009. Ron Medich paid $500,000 for Mr McGurk (pictured) to be killed after fighting with him over millions of dollars for years
In 2017 it was reported the Medich brothers were in talks for a $500million sale of their Elizabeth Drive landholding to companies associated with Chinese property magnate Tim Ching Shum.
Mr Shum, also known as Shen Yuxing, is the majority shareholder of Boyuan Holdings, a development company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
When the original deal did not go through a new consortium was formed under the Roberts Jones name which a spokesman told The Australian newspaper was a ‘local’ company.
Ron Medich’s brother Roy (pictured) is a prominent businessman and philanthropist
Roberts Jones was a ‘consortium comprised of major institutional financiers [who] supported and helped debt fund this landmark acquisition,’ the spokesman said.
The site in the airport’s Northern Gateway precinct would be developed into a major employment, logistics and mixed-use precinct to service the new airport and ‘aerotropolis’.
Boyuan Holdings has been appointed by Roberts Jones as development agents for the project, the spokesman said.
Roberts Jones is directed by Chinese-born Bo (Bob) Gong, who lives at Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and Cheng Jia (Jonathan) Pan, who lives on the lower north shore at Mosman.
The Guardian reported the purchase of the Badgerys Creek property would not need Foreign Investment Review Board approval because Mr Gong and Mr Pan were Australian citizens.
Mr Pan told The Guardian: ‘There are many investors in the consortium, but given confidentiality agreements in place, we cannot disclose further details.’
In December, the Medich brothers sold 73 hectares on nearby The Northern Road at Bringelly to Roberts Jones Bringelly Pty Ltd for $77.2 million.
The and the single-storey, three-bedroom, one-bathroom brick home (pictured) that stands on the site the Medich brothers have sold for $499,950,000 was last rented for $280 a week
The Medich brothers made fortunes developing property in western Sydney but split their interests after their last major project together, Norton Plaza Shopping Centre at Leichhardt, opened in 1999.
Roy Medich has since bought and sold landmark pubs including the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Hotel Centennial at Woollahra, The Buena at Mosman and the Woolwich Pier Hotel.
He and wife Patricia have three children who are all involved in the philanthropic Medich Foundation which funds community organisations, the arts and medical research.
Last year the federal auditor-general found taxpayers had paid almost $30million in July 2018 to buy land at Badgerys Creek that about 11 months later was valued at $3million.
Western Sydney International Airport is set to open in 2026. Ron Medich, who last month lost an appeal against his murder conviction, will be eligible for release in February 2048.
Western Sydney International Airport is set to open in 2026. Ron Medich, who last month lost an appeal against his murder conviction, will be eligible for release in February 2048
