One of Australia's most notorious crime figures will find out if he will be freed from prison in less than three days, after he applied for his release on appeal bail after 18 years in custody.
Tony Mokbel, 59, who is appealing his 26-year prison term, applied for bail on Tuesday as he awaits a hearing over his Lawyer X bid to overturn drug trafficking connections.
His sister Gawy Saad took the stand in the Court of Appeal where she offered to house Mokbel upon his release at her home in Melbourne's northeast, along with a $850,000 surety.
She initially offered a $500,000 surety but said the equity in one of her homes was $750,000 and she had another $100,000 in the bank.
Ms Saad was asked whether she did not put more money up because Mokbel had previously absconded to Greece while on bail, in 2006, under a $1 million surety from another sister.
"He's been punished for it, he's done his time and I'm sure he won't do it to anyone else," she told the court, as she agreed to report him to police if he did not comply with bail conditions.
Mokbel's barrister Julie Condon KC said he had agreed to conditions including GPS monitoring, an 11pm to 6am curfew, daily reporting to police and that he cannot leave Victoria.
She described his fleeing to Greece as a "notorious breach of bail" but noted the context was completely different this time.
"We're now 20 years later and the applicant is in the midst of what could only be described as an extremely complex appeal process," Ms Condon said.
"He has a clear incentive to remain in this jurisdiction and see out the end of a process."
Dressed in a black suit and blue tie, Mokbel smiled as he winked and waved at his supporters when he was brought into court, flanked by four Special Operations Group officers.
He embraced and shook hands with various family members and associates, including Ms Saad, throughout the day.
Mokbel has strong ties to the jurisdiction due to a "supportive family" and "long-term de-facto relationship", Ms Condon said.
He was first arrested in Greece in 2007 and jailed in 2012 after striking a deal with prosecutors and pleading guilty to two counts of trafficking a drug of dependence, being MDMA and methamphetamine.
Mokbel, who was taken in and out of court amid high security, is appealing all of his convictions as he was represented by 'Lawyer X' Nicola Gobbo, whom he did not know was a police informer.
Ms Condon detailed seven reasons Mokbel met exceptional circumstances to be granted appeal bail, including the delays in his appeal being heard, the strength of his case, his poor health and circumstances in custody.
She said his non-parole period had Mokbel slated for release by 2031.
"It is not an insignificant matter that the court is hearing an application whereby the applicant ... will have served a substantial portion of his non-parole state sentence before his appeal is heard," she said.
She noted a damning pre-appeal judgment by NSW judge Elizabeth Fullerton, which was delivered in December.
The ruling was critical of Ms Gobbo's role as an informer while acting as Mokbel's lawyer and slammed Victoria Police for using her as an informer.
Prosecutor David Glynn argued Mokbel had not met the exceptional circumstances test as an appeal will be held later this year, which still brings his jail time to less than his non-parole period.
"The applicant's prospects of success on appeal are not such to justify a grant of bail to a man who has six years to go before eligible for parole," he said.
He said the court was not "well-placed" to consider the merits of Mokbel's appeal because it had not yet received the prosecution's written case, which will be filed next week.
Justices Karin Emerton, Robert Osborn and Jane Dixon reserved their decision until 10am Friday.
