Lavish mansion owned by 'Australia's new Christopher Skase' is defaced in graffiti attack after he fled the country owing $350M - leaving nothing but his $800k Rolls Royce behind
- Michael Gu's property was defaced with graffiti which read 'pay back money'
- He fled Australia after his business went into liquidation owning $350million
- Gu's beloved Rolls Royce was sold by creditors for $506,000 to refund money
Pictured: Michael Gu
A multi-million dollar mansion owned by an investor who fled the country owing $350million has been defaced with graffiti which demanded he 'pay back the money'.
Michael Gu has been dubbed 'Australia's new Christopher Skase' after his business, iProsperity Group, collapsed owing hundreds of millions of dollars before he fled the country.
His luxury Mosman home, which overlooks Sydney Harbour, was hastily abandoned in late July as Mr Gu and his business associate, Harry Huang, flew to Los Angeles via New Zealand.
They were granted permission to travel by the Department of Home Affairs, despite well-known fraud allegations levelled against them by their creditors.
Neither have been charged with any crimes.
Neighbours in the well-to-do suburb told Mosman Collective Gu's 'display of wealth was obscene' during his short stint living in the area.
'Everyone in the street used to talk about the cars this guy had... they were only in Mosman for a couple of years and... vanished into thin air,' one said.
The resident found it concerning that somebody had taken the time to graffiti the property this week in Chinese writing which roughly translates to 'pay the money back'.
'It's intimidating to learn that someone has spray-painted graffiti over the front of the house – I mean, what was this guy up to?,' they said.
A multi-million dollar mansion owned by an investor who fled the country owing $350million was defaced with graffiti which demanded he 'pay back the money' in Chinese
Michael Gu's luxury Mosman home (pictured with graffiti on the door reading 'pay back the money' in Chinese) was hastily abandoned in late July when Gu fled the country
Gu has been described as a 'modern day Christopher Skase' (pictured) since he was granted permission to travel by the Department of Home Affairs
The most flashy of his cars, a white-gold Rolls Royce with bright orange leather trim and lambswool mats was sold last week for $502,000.
It was one of the few physical items liquidators could recover from the collapse of his business, which could cost investors up to $350million.
The $10million home will likely also be sold off in an attempt to recover some of the money, but it is mortgaged to Credit Suisse.
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Gu has been described as a 'modern day Christopher Skase' because he was granted permission to travel and quickly fell off the radar.
Skase was an Australian businessman who went on to become one of his country's most wanted fugitives, after his business empire crashed and he fled to Majorca, Spain.
He died before he could ever be extradited to Australia.
Gu's last known location was in Los Angeles, but authorities are not certain he is still there.
The $10million home will likely also be sold off in an attempt to recover some of the money, but it is credited to Credit Suisse
His luxury Mosman home, which overlooks Sydney's Harbour, was hastily abandoned in late July as Mr Gu and his business associate, Harry Huang, fled to Los Angeles via New Zealand
New South Wales Police are in the early stages of investigating Gu over potential fraudulent activity, but moved too slowly in trying to prevent him from leaving the country, the Australian Financial Review reported.
By the time authorities put a stop on his passport, he'd already flown out of Australia on his way to the United States.
Gu had been touted as an incredible success story in Australia, rising in the ranks from a salesman in western Sydney and gaining the trust of huge international investors.
'People who would say ''look at the car Michael drives, where he lives, his office'',' one person known to Gu said.
'They believed he was a great success story.'
Cor Cordis was appointed as administrators of 13 iProsperity companies in July.
'Our urgent focus is on stabilising the iProsperity Group and commencing a full and thorough investigation into its affairs,' Cor Cordis Partner and Voluntary Administrator Barry Wight said in July.
Liquidators are still establishing how they can best retrieve as much of the money owing as possible.
According to a Cor Cordis report, Gu used $1 million of company funds to purchase Vanuatu passports in July last year.
A report by KPMG said the 'potential misuse of investor funds' and 'potential improper conduct' likely led to the collapse of one iProsperity company, Capital Management Pty Ltd.
The company, which had debts of $60.5 million, is just one of the Group's 64 operations, the AFR reported.
The most flashy of his cars, a white-gold Rolls Royce with bright orange leather trim and lambswool mats was sold last week for $502,000
It was one of the few physical items liquidators could recover from the collapse of his business, which could cost investors up to $350million
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