A Toorak businessman accused of benefiting from the alleged deception of multiple landowners in Melbourne’s outer suburbs has been charged with selling hundreds of swords and other prohibited weapons, including one to a child.
Digital marketing expert Kunal Atul Shah is accused of advertising, possessing and selling prohibited weapons, including more than 930 swords, without an exemption from Victoria Police. He is also charged with failing to keep records of the sales, failing to check the identity of his buyers, and selling a sword to a child. He is contesting some of those charges.
Shah allegedly ran the weapons business online through his own website and third-party sellers. Some of the items on sale allegedly included knives, swords, sabres and other collectible fantasy items like toy swords.
The businessman was charged after a woman discovered her teenage son had allegedly purchased a sword from Shah’s business on eBay, and contacted police.
Shah is accused of benefiting from a contentious land “flipping” scheme allegedly being run by a syndicate of rogue agents within Raine and Horne Land Victoria, as revealed in an investigation by The Age this week.
The scheme allegedly deceived the owners of valuable parcels of land in the city’s fringes by undervaluing their lots and selling them to friends and business associates without disclosing the relationship to the vendors.
The agents – Rajwinder Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Kevin Paghdar, Amandeep Singh, and Atul Sama – have all denied any wrongdoing, and maintain they are the subject of a smear campaign by disgruntled former employees of the firm. The Age is not suggesting others within the firm are involved.
An analysis of property records shows Shah is connected to the purchase of almost $30 million worth of real estate sold by the rogue syndicate since 2022, including in Stonehaven, Nar Nar Goon, Leopold and Werribee.
Images obtained by The Age show Shah is a close friend of Raine and Horne Land Victoria agent Kevin Paghdar and mortgage broker Hardik Shah, who has been involved in several property deals brokered by the syndicate. The pair feature heavily in Shah’s social media – attending lavish parties at his Toorak mansion and taking holidays overseas.
In one of the photographs, Shah and Paghdar can be seen standing in a Balinese pool bar surrounded by friends. A bottle of sparkling wine and several flutes sit on a table in the foreground.
“If friendship came with an expiry date… ours forgot to show up – 16 years and counting,” a message above the image reads.
The Age contacted Shah via phone, text and email, but he could not be reached for comment.
The outer-suburban properties targeted by Raine and Horne Land Victoria are often the subject of a precinct structure plan imposed by the state government to guide future residential development and infrastructure investment. The land can soar in value when rezoned by the government to allow residential subdivisions and boost the state’s housing supply.
Shah is regularly featured on social media enjoying a luxurious lifestyle that includes travelling on private jets over the Swiss Alps, holidaying in exclusive resorts in Saudi Arabia, riding jet-skis in Dubai, buying luxury vehicles and hosting opulent parties.
In a video interview posted on Instagram, Shah can be seen standing next to a $400,000 baby-blue Bentley Continental as an influencer interviews him about his wealth. In the footage, Shah shows the car and a shiny $25,000 Rolex to the camera before offering what he believes is the secret to rebuilding wealth: “Work hard, put more hours in.”
Last year, Shah and his wife unveiled The Shah Empire, a custom-made artwork for their Toorak home that represents a “visual chronicle of power, triumph and legacy”.
“The palette of classic gold and white is not accidental – gold represents grandeur, wealth, victory, and timeless glory, while white symbolises purity of purpose, unity, and the enduring spirit,” read the caption of an Instagram post about the artwork.
“In essence, the painting is not just a tribute to legacy – a golden path etched in the purity of time, where milestones and hard work of an empire shines.”
The Toorak-based businessman appeared in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court over the weapons charges in May.
The court heard submissions that despite having a “postcode locker” in place on his website to prevent orders from being placed within Victoria, a 15-year-old boy was able to order a sword from Shah’s business through eBay and arrange for the weapon to be delivered to his home in Pakenham.
Machetes, swords and daggers are prohibited weapons that require a special exemption or approval from the chief commissioner of police in Victoria, regardless of whether the weapons are used for self-protection.
The package was intercepted by the boy’s mother, who then contacted Victoria Police.
Investigators say they traced the delivery to a Dandenong South freight-forwarding business connected to Shah’s company, where they allegedly uncovered a stash of more than 900 swords.
Shah’s lawyer told the court the businessman had a hands-off approach to the day-to-day operations of the online business, and the transaction had “slipped through” after his administration officer went on leave.
“She was the last line of filtration,” the lawyer said.
He said Shah was aware he was not allowed to sell the weapons in Victoria and was advertising them outside the state.
“The 15-year-old had faked the fact that he was 18 or over to get access to the site,” the lawyer said. “He deceived eBay, and he deceived my client.”
Shah will return to court for a special mention in October.
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Marta Pascual Juanola is an investigative journalist at The Age. Before that, she was a crime and justice reporter. You can contact her securely via m.pascualjuanola@proton.me or Signal on +61 468 688 436.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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