John Ibrahim

John Houssam Ibrahim (born 25 August, 1970 in Sydney, Australia) is a Lebanese Australian Kings Cross nightclub entrepreneur. Ibrahim has attracted media attention due to his involvement in the 1995 Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service and alleged association with organized crime and outlaw motorcycle clubs.

Personal life

John Ibrahim resides in a sprawling cliff top mansion in Dover Heights, New South Wales. The property is currently undergoing an $AUD800,000 renovation. Ibrahim also owns a number of additional properties in the same street and surrounding suburb and he is known to drive a black bullet proof Bentley motorcar.

Ibrahim has three brothers. The youngest, Fadi Ibrahim, recently awoke from a coma after being shot five times by an unknown assailant while sitting in his Lamborghini outside his Castle Cove, New South Wales mansion. . Ibrahim's older brother, Sam, is a former leader of the Nomads MC outlaw motorcycle gang, which splintered in 2007 to form a new organization, Notorious MC. Sam is currently in remand in the Goulbourn Supermax Prison. . Ibrahim's third brother Michael Ibrahim is currently serving up to nine years in jail for the manslaughter of Robin Nassour, the brother of Australian comedian George Nassour who was also seriously injured in the attack.

On 25 July 2009 it was reported that Ibrahim had separated from his socialite interior designer fiance, Chelsea Mitchell. .

Business interests

Ibrahim receives substantial income from legitimate business sources, including nightclubs and property investments. Ibrahim is a major player in the Sydney nightclub scene. He reportedly has financial interests in 17 Kings Cross establishment, including a 40% share in a company called Lux Entertainment which recently bought a one third share in the Ladylux nightclub..

Alleged links to organized crime

It is alleged that during the late 1980s Ibrahim worked in Sydney’s Kings Cross collecting money for the crime bosses Louis Bayeh and George Freeman. In 1995 secret surveillance recordings of the drug trafficker Bill Bayeh were played to the Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service. In these recordings Bayeh was heard to remark that he wanted the young Ibrahim "out of Kings Cross" because his activities were impacting on the profitability of his business activities.

Ibrahim has been labeled by the Australian news media as "Teflon John" and "The Teflon man of Kings Cross". As a teenager he was convicted of assault, but has not been found guilty of any crime since then. Two charges recently faced by Ibrahim - manslaughter and witness tampering - were dismissed by the judge before a jury had the opportunity to deliberate.

During the Royal Commission Ibrahim was identified by Counsel assisting the Commission, John Agius SC, as the new "lifeblood of the drugs industry of Kings Cross" after major drug dealers like Bill Bayeh, for whom he had worked, were sentenced to prison. During a 2004 trial Ibrahim was identified as "the subject of 546 police intelligence reports in relation to his involvement in drugs, organized crime and association with outlaw motorcycle gangs".

In 1997 Ibrahim's elder brother Hassan "Sam" Ibrahim was elected president of the Nomads MC Parramatta chapter. This chapter of the Nomads MC subsequently became a powerful criminal organizations in Sydney. However, due to a falling out with the Nomad’s leadership group the chapter splintered in 2007 to form a new outlaw motorcycle club, "Notorious MC". It has been reported in the media that the Notorious MC is currently being used as street muscle to support the distribution of illegal drugs in Kings Cross and around Sydney.

In July 2009 Ibrahim's bodyguard was arrested following a raid on his home by a special gang violence taskforce that netted bulk quantities of a methamphetamine precursor.