Salim Mehajer outside Burwood Court earlier this year. Sydney Constructions & Developments was asking the court to cancel that process, known as a "statutory demand order". That gives a company 21 days to make good on its debt, or face being presumed insolvent and then wound up. Mr Mehajer, a company shareholder, was not in court. "We do not owe any money to [Reynolds Private Wealth]," he told Fairfax Media. "No companies are … 'ailing'. "Our returns clearly show that all our existing companies are running successfully and have never been in default."

Salim Mehajer's wife, Aysha Mehajer. Credit:Peter Rae Mr Mehajer's lawyers are disputing the existence of a debt with Reynolds and the amount owed, according to documents filed with the court. Mr Mehajer also brushed off the inclusion of adverse information on the credit report of another company linked to the family, Mehajer Consolidated. Though not specified, "adverse information" could include defaults, petitions, judgments and writs. "These remain allegations and pending matters," he said. For a fee, anyone can lodge a credit complaint but there are penalties if it is proven to be unfounded.

If Reynolds' application is found to have good grounding, it could have widespread ramifications throughout the Mehajer empire. A search of the personal property securities register reveals that at least six Mehajer companies have served as guarantor for a loan from Reynolds, believed to have been taken out only in February. The conditions of the loan appear particularly tough. All current and future property and earnings for six Mehajer companies is listed as collateral for the debt. Among the directors of the companies potentially facing serious financial ramifications, such as Mehajer Consolidated, is Mr Mehajer's wife, Aysha. Mr Mehajer resigned as a director of Sydney Constructions and almost all other family companies late last year after announcing a plan to pursue a career in medicine.

Aysha and Mr Mehajer's sisters, Khadijeh and Aisha, stepped into his role. Since then, the three have swapped official positions in the companies. It was revealed last month that Aysha had been removed from about nine secretary and director's positions across a network of Mehajer companies, while Khadijeh, meanwhile assumed 10 positions. Aysha's sidelining fuelled media speculation about the strength of the couple's marriage, which was sealed in spectacular style last year and which brought them both to fame. But in a series of complicated and confusing manouevres, Mrs Mehajer was also appointed to positions at three Mehajer companies last month – in two cases, appointments are recorded as having occurred on the same day she resigned from the company. Mrs Mehajer retains roles at about five companies in the empire, including two whose assets have been used as surety for a loan to Reynolds.

According to Reynolds' website, its interest rates start at 2 per cent per month – or 24 per cent a year, a particularly steep proposition. The kind of "caveat" loans granted by Reynolds are typically sought as a quick sort of cash, or as "mezzanine" finance, to make up a shortfall in a project's financing from other lower-interest lenders. The matter was stood over on Monday and is listed for further directions on May 23.