High-profile jeweller Michel Germani will remain in custody after a judge declared he had a powerful motive to plot a major robbery on his own city-centre store.
His wife Coco’s contacts in China formed part of the prosecution case for keeping the 66-year-old behind bars, a NSW Supreme Court bail hearing was told on Tuesday.
Germani is accused of staging the robbery of his Sydney city store in January 2022, during which a female employee was allegedly tied to a chair and threatened.
Mounir Helou, who allegedly carried out the robbery after posing as a customer and helped restrain the employee, was granted bail on Tuesday.
Police are yet to recover more than 160 items, valued at $2.8 million, that the jeweller reported to insurers as having been taken during the robbery.
Germani has been charged with robbery, participating in a criminal group, contributing to criminal activity and making false statements.
Coco Germani is accused of doing an act intending to pervert the course of justice, a charge laid after an unsuccessful September bail hearing for her husband.
The Supreme Court previously heard she was allegedly in on the scheme.
In refusing Germani bail on Tuesday, Justice Stephen Rothman noted there were significant contacts between his wife and people in China, with which Australia does not have an extradition treaty.
While this did not necessarily mean Chinese authorities would not facilitate extradition, it would “take longer and is a real risk”, the judge said.
Justice Rothman noted the family’s ties to the Asian nation could be entirely “innocent” and the product of ordering jewellery from producers there.
Germani’s lawyer Matthew Kalyk argued a trial might not begin until mid-2025, at which time the jeweller would have been in custody for more than two years.
He said the police case relied on statements by co-accused that had never eventuated, including one from Giualla Penna, who Germani allegedly recruited to organise the robbery.
Police intercepted phone conversations involving Penna in which she sought a valuation for a rose gold, ruby and diamond four-carat ring after the robbery.
An identical item was listed on an insurance claim as being taken during the theft.
The court heard Penna was no longer available to give evidence in the trial.
“The absence of her evidence leaves a significant hole in the crown case,” Kalyk said.
Germani’s lawyer added his client would not be tempted to flee the jurisdiction in part due to his “very lengthy community ties”.
Justice Rothman noted the crown case was predominantly circumstantial, but he also described it as “very strong”.
The court heard evidence of the significant financial difficulties Germani was facing in the lead-up to the robbery, including a notice of default from Hilton Sydney about the lease on his store.
“Motive in and of itself will not prove guilt,” Justice Rothman said.
“Nevertheless, in this instance the motive is strong.”
