Sydney Jeweller accused of staging $2.8 million heist

High-profile jeweller in Sydney has been accused of staging an armed robbery.

The owner of Germani Jewellery, a jewellery store which has designed items for Diana, the former Princess of Wales; Elizabeth Taylor, and the Saudi royal family was arrested on Monday for insurance fraud.

The owner, Michel Elias Germani, claims his store was the victim of an armed robbery by 2 men who bound Germani and a staff member with cable ties and then fled the store with a large and expensive haul of jewellery.

However, Det Supt Joe Doueihi told reporters on Tuesday the police came to believe something “just didn’t seem right” about the robbery.

Doueihi told reporters on Tuesday the staff member, who was injured in the attack, was “absolutely traumatised” and had no knowledge of the alleged elaborate hoax.

“She was threatened with violence and a knife [and] bound with cable ties on her feet and her hands … she was under the belief that it was a genuine robbery,” he said.

Germani has been charged with aggravated robbery and depriving a person of their liberty, attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage by deception, publishing false or misleading material to obtain property, and participating in a criminal group and contributing to criminal activity.