SYDNEY: A well-known jeweller in Sydney has been detained on charges of plotting a heist at his own luxury store and then filing a false insurance claim.
At his store in the heart of Sydney in January, two guys reportedly threatened Michel Germani and a female employee and demanded access to the safe.
Police said that Germani, 65, orchestrated the drama to defraud his insurance provider.
He is now accused of a number of crimes, including robbery, fraud, and deceit.
Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi stated that Germani had submitted a claim for a “substantial amount of jewellery of a sizeable dollar amount.
Det Supt Doueihi told reporters on Tuesday, “I can indicate there was enough proof that would implicate the store owner in planning that robbery.”
According to authorities, two other individuals, ages 37 and 57, were detained and charged in connection with the case last month, and further arrests were expected.
The alleged false robbery allegedly took place on January 19 when two individuals scheduled an evening appointment at the Germani store on George Street in Sydney before turning on Mr. Germani and a female employee, according to police.
After one man reportedly threatened the 47-year-old lady with a knife, Germani and she were both detained before the thieves fled the area.
Det Supt Doueihi said the woman had received physical injuries and emotional anguish.
He said that she was an entirely innocent agent and had been the victim of what she had thought to be a robbery.
As a result of its sponsorship of the television programme Sale of the Century from 1988 to 2001, Michel Germani’s Australian company, which he founded in the middle of the 1980s, rose to become one of the most well-known jewellery businesses in the country.
According to the Germani website, the company has “extensive experience in creating distinctive, cosmopolitan, one-of-a-kind and exquisite jewellery” for various customers, including the Saudi royal family, the late Elizabeth Taylor, and Princess Diana.
