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Despite his conviction and criminal associations, Malkoun was allowed to live in the United Arab Emirates due to his close connections with the Gulf state’s royal family.
The relationship is apparently based on a mutual interest in racehorses, with a Dubai royal giving Malkoun an Arabian stallion as a gift.
Malkoun also became wealthy following a land play in Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs, which saw one of his companies sell a residential development site for $26 million.
His company, Trash Media, bought the 26-hectare property as a horse farm for $950,000 in 2009, and its value exploded after it was rezoned in 2017.
Malkoun returned to Melbourne in 2020 to seek specialist medical treatment after surviving a car bomb planted inside his Mercedes outside a gym in Athens, Greece. No one has ever been arrested over the attack.
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Malkoun has received stem cell treatments at an inner Melbourne clinic for his injuries.
In publicity materials promoting The Consultant, Malkoun is described as: “Survivor of the Melbourne underworld wars, and 10 years in Australia’s most brutal prison. Nightclub enforcer and peacemaker. Strip-club mogul and incurable romantic. A family man of deep religious faith who is capable of extreme violence when pushed. A loving father and a loyal son.
“A negotiator of multi-million-dollar deals in both the boardroom and the backroom. The one-time leader of one of the most influential and powerful outlaw motorcycle clubs the world has ever seen – whose power extends across the globe.”
Malkoun’s publicist at Penguin Random House did not respond to a request for comment.
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