The Hindi family's property in Sylvania. Photo: John Veage On November 12, 2014, Malcolm Hindi set up a company Blakehurst Holdings. His partner Xiaomin Shen, 57, is the father-in-law of Liberal councillor Christina Wu. Cr Wu was Cr Hindi's running mate for the 2012 Hurstville council elections. On the day it was set up, Blakehurst Holdings purchased 434 Princes Highway, Blakehurst. Blakehurst Holdings acts as a trustee for the Blakehurst Properties Unit Trust but the beneficiaries of the unit trust are not known. The Blakehurst waterfront investment is not Malcolm Hindi's first foray into property development. Malcolm Hindi. Photo: Facebook

In August 2013, when he was 19, he paid $650,000 to buy a property in Rosebery Street, Penshurst, from his parents. Two years earlier the Hindis had been trying to sell the property for $879,000. Before he had sold the property to his son, Cr Hindi put in a development application to Hurstville council. Cr Wu moved the motion that council approve the Hindis' planned development. Cr Hindi claimed he had sold the property to his son Malcolm with the intention that Malcolm should live in one of the townhouses, and his sister in another. Development on Peakhurst. Photo: John Veage He also said recent changes to the building code for that part of Penshurst would have allowed him to build three townhouses and a villa on the almost 800-square-metre block.

"I could have made a lot more money but I chose to develop it for my kids," he said at the time. But 12 months later, his son Malcolm sold one of the new townhouses for $1,395,000. His mother, Miray, a real estate agent, recently handled the sale of the second Rosebery Street townhouse. The price remains undisclosed. Property at Blakehurst. Photo: John Veage When the Hindis were negotiating to buy a deceased estate in Peake Parade, Peakhurst, towards the end of 2012, the area had been flagged to be rezoned from low density residential to medium or high density. Following its rezoning, in early 2014 the Hindis began negotiating to sell their development property to Peter and Myrna Abdallah's company Peake Industry. During the negotiations the Abdallahs were informed that Rachel Hindi now owned the property. Land title records show that Con and Miray Hindi sold the property to their daughter on February 5, 2014, for $650,000. Less than a fortnight later, on February 17, Rachel on-sold to the Abdallahs for $980,000.

Although he had sold them the site, when the Abdallahs put in their development application later that year, Cr Hindi voted to reject it without declaring any conflict of interest. It was later passed. Property at Penshurst. Photo: John Veage Cr Hindi, his family and relatives have several other developments on the boil. But the mayor's most controversial development site is at 40 Crump Street, Mortdale. A spokesman for Local Government minister Paul Toole confirmed that late last week Hurstville Council was notified that the Office of Local Government has launched an investigation into the council's May 20 meeting in which prosecution of Cr Hindi was to be discussed for his failure to remediate the asbestos-riddled Crump Street site. The inquiry will also examine the decision that same night to suspend the general manager who had carriage of the investigation into Cr Hindi's site. Cr Hindi and Cr Wu did not reply to Fairfax Media's emails or calls. Mrs Hindi, a former Kogarah councillor said, "We have always acted honourably and honestly." She also said "my husband has been very upset by recent articles you have written about him" and that he is contemplating legal action. Five councillors who have recently opposed Cr Hindi in council have also received defamation threats from the mayor.