![\"Bevan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/56103eb329de20e8941efe3fd63624f8921c1291.png\")
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March 10, 2026 \u2014 6:35pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n As Micky Ahuja\u2019s world crashed down around him last year, the private security kingpin deployed tried and tested tactics to minimise the damage.<\/p>\n The first: deny, deny, deny. The second: delay. For months, Ahuja has refused to answer detailed questions about the collapse of his once-booming MA Services Group<\/a>, claims of tax fraud and worker exploitation, revelations about connections to a bikie network<\/a>, and allegations by several women<\/a> of predatory behaviour, including rape.<\/p>\n His approach didn\u2019t work. On Tuesday, Ahuja opted for a radical change of strategy and, with the assistance of celebrity publicist Max Markson, held a bizarre \u201cno-holds-barred\u201d press conference in a Sydney warehouse. Suddenly, Ahuja was a man with an answer for everything.<\/p>\n Not in person, though. Ahuja fled to Dubai last year as his MA empire crumbled, and has no plans to return to face the music. Pressed via video link, he said his Middle East move was simply a matter of being a good family man. \u201cWe always travel as a family in December and January,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhen I moved here I did not know the business would collapse. As you can understand, my priority at the moment is to earn a good income to provide for my son and my wife, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n He initially denied he had started any businesses in the United Arab Emirates, but records revealed a fledgling firm, FM Services L.L.C-FZ, under his name. \u201cJust registering a business does not mean you are starting a business,\u201d Ahuja insisted after being presented with the registration documentation.<\/p>\n Agitated and at times exasperated, he spent an hour-and-a-half claiming an avalanche of allegations \u2013 from regulators, former staff, women who worked for him or knew him, and customers \u2013 were \u201cfake\u201d, motivated by malice, lacked context or misunderstood how corporate Australia works. His argument boiled down to a belief he is simultaneously the most unlucky and most unfairly targeted man in the nation.<\/p>\n Ahuja said his career was defined by \u201ccountless hours of work, effort, tears and sweat\u201d. But an eight-month joint investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes shows it has also been filled with sustained wrongdoing.<\/p>\n MA Services was once a fast-growing Australian security company whose clients included major retailers Coles<\/a> \u2013 its biggest customer \u2013 as well as Kmart, Bunnings and Amazon, AFL clubs, the Melbourne spring racing carnival, the Australian Grand Prix and federal government agencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n It collapsed on Christmas Eve last year, leaving 1700 people out of work and a string of creditors with massive unpaid bills.<\/p>\n Operation Hermes \u2013 a multi-agency law enforcement and regulatory probe \u2013 is examining tax evasion involving MA Services and a series of related companies.<\/p>\n Related Article The MA syndicate under investigation is suspected of pocketing unpaid tax and worker entitlements of more than $100 million. Ahuja said on Tuesday that the ATO had sent him a bill for nearly $14 million in unpaid taxes, which he is formally disputing.<\/p>\n Much of his scorn was reserved for Nick McKenzie, the decorated Australian journalist who has picked apart Ahuja\u2019s lies and misdeeds through the investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my opinion, he should quit journalism and become a scriptwriter for drama shows and movies,\u201d Ahuja said of the reporter.<\/p>\n He repeatedly challenged McKenzie to agree to a one-on-one live interview on the caveat it is not edited, and is broadcast on one of Nine\u2019s rival networks. (Nine is the owner of this masthead.) McKenzie need not have bothered dismissing the demand as \u201csilly\u201d \u2013 the very concept would be laughed out of the room by television executives.<\/p>\n For McKenzie, Tuesday\u2019s surreal press conference was a chance to put dozens of questions that Ahuja had been dodging. Under forensic examination, his answers fell apart.<\/p>\n Why had 20 MA Services subcontractors collapsed owing the ATO a total debt of $65 million? \u201cI can\u2019t answer that,\u201d Ahuja replied. Pressed, he could recall one collapsed company, and then, eventually, two.<\/p>\n \u201cHave you ever run a business?\u201d Ahuja eventually shot back. \u201cYou\u2019re not understanding how a business operates. You\u2019ve got to understand how it is to run and grow a business from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n He asked McKenzie to send him proof the 20 firms had collapsed. \u201cAh, excuse me,\u201d McKenzie said. \u201cThese are corporate records. They are available online!\u201d<\/p>\n In praise which will cause heartburn at Coles\u2019 head office, Ahuja also leapt to the defence of the supermarket\u2019s ethics team, declaring it \u201cone of the best we ever worked with\u201d.<\/p>\n When read Coles\u2019 recent statement accusing Ahuja\u2019s company of operating a \u201csophisticated and misleading scheme designed to successfully conceal breaches of workplace laws from Coles\u201d, he stumbled. \u201cThey have all the data, they have all the payslips,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Prior to his company\u2019s collapse, Ahuja lived a lavish lifestyle that included driving a Rolls-Royce 4WD, two Mercedes G-Wagons and a Lamborghini Urus.<\/p>\n Ahuja said he was selling some of his many properties, and had offloaded three of his six luxury watches \u201cto pay for food\u201d. Asked whether he would use the proceeds of any sales to pay back those in Australia out of pocket, he denied anyone was owed money or had been underpaid.<\/p>\n On the most serious of claims facing Ahuja \u2013 two allegations of rape and others of serious sexual misconduct \u2013 the former young entrepreneur of the year went on the attack, making a series of assertions about the women, their motives and backgrounds. He offered little to no evidence to back up his claims.<\/p>\n Sara*, a former police officer-turned employee under the MA Services umbrella, told the joint investigation over the weekend that Ahuja took her to her hotel suite at Melbourne\u2019s Crown casino in April 2019.<\/p>\n She said she passed out and woke up in \u201ca panic\u201d and alone in the room. \u201cI was naked and there was vomit to the side of the bed and then the bottom half of the bed and a little part of myself was covered in blood,\u201d she said. The blood was from tearing Sara had suffered during the alleged rape.<\/p>\n The investigation did not use Sara\u2019s real name, to protect her privacy. But Ahuja named her during Tuesday\u2019s press conference \u2013 a statement which could constitute a criminal offence if made in some Australian states. He also claimed they had \u201cchemistry\u201d and were in a relationship after the Crown casino encounter of 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI did not rape her, and if she thinks I did I encourage her to go to Victoria Police today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ahuja repeatedly denied he was Sara\u2019s boss, though he eventually conceded she worked at a subcontracting firm MA Services used to hire security guards.<\/p>\n Some of his criticisms of Sara veered into downright pettiness, including claiming that she once drove four hours to collect a pet bird for his birthday \u201cwhich died on the way back, unfortunately\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n A series of Snapchat messages have also revealed Ahuja offered one woman, Rachel*, multiple payments of $1000 for sex. The offer was made when she was financially vulnerable having separated from one of MA Services\u2019 senior managers.<\/p>\n One message stated: \u201cWant to make love, kiss those lips. Let\u2019s make a deal? $1000 for every time we catch up.\u201d Another said: \u201cHappy to pay. Asked a zillion times already.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahuja said on Tuesday that the pair had a \u201cflirtatious friendship\u201d and conceded he had demonstrated a \u201cserious lack of judgment\u201d. While confirming much of Rachel\u2019s story, he maintained Snapchat screenshots in which he offers to pay for each \u201ccatch up\u201d were fabricated. He said he did not have records of the pair\u2019s historical conversations to prove his claim.<\/p>\n This was a bridge too far for McKenzie, who said to Ahuja: \u201cSo everyone who alleges sexual misconduct against you has either made up messages or has a dodgy past?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n McKenzie sought to interrogate Ahuja further, but the businessman stonewalled. McKenzie left in frustration, leaving time for journalists gathered in the warehouse in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria to ask a final few questions, including whether it was exhausting being a compulsive liar.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, because I am not a liar,\u201d he replied with a straight face. The broadcast ended, and Ahuja went off in search of breakfast in the City of Gold.<\/p>\n *Names have been changed.<\/p>\n 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)<\/p>\n National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Micky](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55bde0bf5fd54c6f26c617a5d4e70c33b1d563bf.jpeg\")
Micky Ahuja beams into a Sydney warehouse from his new base in Dubai. Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773161592_134_67b17e33f82e35dcbaf3e29f50e708dc244c0e16c210584cddce26645adb7914.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Micky](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773161593_362_d06c35225114e911e1c8535d9a61174f7f19d661.jpeg\")
Micky Ahuja with his wife, Sasha, at the AFL Brownlow Medal night.<\/p>\n![\"Bevan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773161593_358_56103eb329de20e8941efe3fd63624f8921c1291.png\")
Bevan Shields<\/a> was editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and is now a senior writer.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 10, 2026 \u2014 6:35pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-531412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}