Disgraced businessman Salim Mejaher is given bail again after claiming he 'accidentally contacted a witness' ahead of his court case for 'putting speeding fines in another person's name'
- Salim Mehajer has been released from custody a day after being arrested again
- Mehajer, 32, was put back behind bars on Monday for allegedly breaching bail
- He faced Burwood Local Court on Tuesday where a Magistrate let him walk free
- Mehajer spent 11-months behind bars for rigging a local council election in 2012
Disgraced businessman Salim Mehajer has been released from custody less than 24 hours after being arrested for allegedly contacting a witness in an upcoming case.
Mehajer, 32, found himself back behind bars on Monday for allegedly breaching one of the strict bail conditions granted following his release from Cooma Prison in May.
Police alleged that the former deputy mayor of Auburn City Council had messaged a witness in an upcoming court case around allegations he put speeding tickets in the name of another driver.
Mehajer faced Burwood Local Court on Tuesday where he told the magistrate he was unaware he had been banned from communicating the witness in question.
Salim Mehajer (pictured) has been released from custody just 24 hours after being arrested for allegedly contacting a key witness in an upcoming case
In applying for his client's release, Mehajer's barrister, Dymphna Hawkins, said she'd been instructed to object to the statement as the witness was not present in court to be cross-examined.
Ms Hawkins told magistrate Alison Viney that sections of the statement had little relevance.
'(Parts) have little or no weight whatsoever and are inflammatory and have little or no relevance,' the lawyer said.
Mehajer is separately fighting allegations he staged a 2017 crash in which his Mercedes AMG collided with another vehicle just before he was meant to appear in court over a taxi driver assault.
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He was already due to face court in Parramatta on Tuesday as he continues to try to have his bail conditions varied - partly so he can have a mobile phone and use social media.
Mehajer was released from prison on May 21 this year, after serving an 11-month term for rigging a local council election.
He spent the days immediately after his release in court, determining the conditions of his bail.
But about 2.30pm on Monday police arrived at the door to his home at Lidcombe, in Sydney's western suburbs, to arrest the infamous businessman,
The former deputy mayor of Auburn City Council was arrested on Monday after breaking bail conditions
He was taken to Burwood Police Station and charged with breaching bail, before
The controversial businessman walked free from Cooma Correctional Centre, in southern NSW, after an 11-month stint behind bars for rigging a local council election in 2012.
Mehajer spent his spare time in jail hitting the gym and dealing with his numerous legal battles currently before the courts.
Last September he was placed in solitary confinement inside Cooma Prison after he allegedly assaulted a correctives officer while behind bars.
Mehajer's criminal history also includes the assault of a taxi driver outside Sydney's Star Casino in 2017, to which he pleaded guilty and received a three-year good behaviour bond.
The attention-lover has been in the public eye since his lavish wedding to now ex-wife Aysha Learmonth in August 2015.
Who is Salim Mehajer?
Former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has never been far from controversy
2009: Mehajer is convicted of possessing or attempting to possess a 'prescribed restricted substance' and of possessing a police uniform. The convictions are later overturned on appeal.
March 2011: Mehajer unsuccessfully runs as an independent member of the Legislative Assembly for Auburn at the NSW state election.
He is subsequently investigated by the Election Funding Authority of New South Wales, which did not take any action against him.
January 2012: Mehajer loses control of his $300,000 Ferrari and injures a mother and daughter in Sydney's west.
He is convicted of negligent driving and sentenced to 150 hours community service. The conviction is later overturned on appeal.
September 2012: Mehajer is elected as an independent councillor for the City of Auburn and later elected to deputy mayor.
February 2013: His construction firm SM Project Developments is forced into liquidation by the ATO over unpaid taxes.
February 2014: A property owned by Mehajer in Lidcombe is damaged by a suspicious fire.
June 2014: He is suspended from civic office for a month by the Division of Local Government for failing to disclose his business and property interests.
The punishment is overturned in December.
August 2015: The then deputy mayor of Auburn marries his partner Aysha in the so-called 'wedding of the century'.
Mehajer is fined $220 by Auburn council over the closure of Frances Street, Lidcombe. A petition is launched to have him sacked over the wedding.
October 2015: Several contractors launch legal action over allegedly unpaid debts, including a stonemason who installed a staircase at his Lidcombe home.
The same month, he is pulled over twice in less than half-an-hour behind the wheel of an allegedly unregistered Ferrari.
September 2015: Mehajer is re-elected as deputy mayor of Auburn, despite the petition demanding his sacking.
October 2015: He reveals that he hopes to one day work his way to 'the top spot' in federal politics.
November 2015: Mehajer announces he wants to study medicine and become a mental health specialist - as he tells fellow councillors he had stood down as director from six of his seven development companies.
The same month, he is forced to defend allegations he intimidated the father of a Lindt Cafe siege survivor.
December 2015: The Australian Federal Police investigate Mehajer over allegations he forged documents to rig the 2012 Auburn City Council election.
January 2016: He is suspended from civic office for four months for failing to disclose his financial interest in a property.
It was found he voted on changes which added $1million to its value.
July 2016: Mehajer is reportedly investigated by police after he allegedly transferred $20million to Lebanon.
The same month, he is told he must stay at least 50 metres away from his wife Aysha until at least 17 August after police took out an AVO on her behalf.
August 2016: Mehajer refuses to reveal who videos allegedly containing threats of sexual abuse and death threats - made by him - were intended for.
September 2016: He is banned from managing corporations for three years after losing an appeal against a ruling made by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
November 2016: Mehajer is publicly arrested by local police in the Spanish party island of Ibiza after an argument with a taxi driver.
April 2017: Mehajer is arrested and charged after assaulting a taxi driver outside The Star casino in Sydney.
Just hours later, he is charged with assault after slamming Channel Seven reporter Laura Banks' hand in a car door.
June 2017: Mehajer's sister Fatima pleads guilty to 77 charges of electoral fraud relating to the 2012 Auburn City Council election.
The same month, his property development companies, Sydney Project Group and SET Services, are placed in the hands of administrators.
September 2017: Mehajer is accused of manipulating the courts over the approval of his plans for a western Sydney shopping mall and apartment block.
October 2017: He is hit with a $1million bill after allegedly failing to pay for work on his Lidcombe 'marble palace' home.
The same month, Mehajer is rushed to hospital after being involved in a car crash on his way to a court hearing over the taxi driver incident.
Also in October, a phone recording is leaked in which Mehajer allegedly threatens to rape a custom car mechanic.
November 2017: Police raid the Mehajer's home as part of an investigation into the alleged staging of the car crash on the way to court.
Mehajer is arrested and charged with breaching an AVO preventing him from seeing his estranged wife Aysha Learmonth.
February 2018: Mehajer is found guilty of assaulting female TV reporter Laura Banks with a car door outside a Sydney police station last year.
He is also handed a three-year good behaviour bond and ordered to undergo anger management counselling after pleading guilty over the taxi driver assault.
March 20, 2018: Mehajer is declared bankrupt by a Federal Circuit Court judge after one of his companies failed to pay a debt of over $200,000 to its creditors.
May 17, 2018: Mehajer is given an 18-month good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to intimidating his estranged wife.
June 22, 2018: Mehajer is ordered to serve 11 months behind bars for electoral fraud. His sister Fatima is given a two-month suspended sentence.
May 17, 2019: Mehajer is charged after allegedly falsely putting speeding tickets he received in 2016 into the names of other people
May 21, 2019: The property developer is due to walk free from Cooma Prison after 11 months behind bars
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