Founder of $560m collapsed Ralan faces up to 10-year imprisonment

THE founder and former managing director of the collapsed Ralan Group, William O’Dwyer, has pleaded guilty to six offences after an ASIC investigation.

The Sydney-based Ralan Group’s $560 million collapse in 2019, came after O’Dwyer “by deception, dishonestly” obtained for companies in the group the ability to draw on facilities totalling $251 million, between April 2015 and June 2018.

The group was founded in 2014 and sold, developed and managed real estate until entering administration.

The charges against O’Dwyer related to loans to group companies involved in residential projects across Sydney, Arncliffe, Turramurra and Gordon.

These loan agreements required companies to satisfy lenders that pre-sale deposits paid by purchasers of residences in the developments were held in trust before draw down on the loans could occur.

However, O’Dwyer deceived the lenders to believe the pre-sale deposits were held in a trust, when in actuality they had been loaned by the purchasers back to the respective development company for use as working capital.

Back in 2019, the administrator of Ralan Group, delivered a scathing report into the failed property developer, finding elements of a Ponzi scheme and saying the group had been insolvent for more than five years prior to the collapse.

Approximately $132 million of the facilities were drawn down upon, with approximately $47 million repaid by the time of the Ralan Group’s collapse.

More of the owed funds is expected to be repaid by following the purchase and development of the Arncliffe property

The maximum penalty for each of the six offences O’Dwyer plead guilty to, is 10 years imprisonment.