The winners of The Block: Tree Change have slammed critics claiming they had a “dummy bidder” at their auction after walking away with a record-breaking $1.5 million in prize money.
Speaking to A Current Affair, Omar Slaimenkhel and Ozmand ‘Oz’ Abu Malik said the accusations were “unfortunate”.
“I feel like it happens in this country a lot. You do so well and the next day you’re trying to justify why you won,” Omar told the program.
“It’s unfortunate because we do deserve it and we did so well.”
Their house sold following a bidding war between millionaires Danny Wallis and Adrian Portelli, the latter of whom was known to Omar and Oz.
The relationship between them has put the pair under scrutiny and prompted Portelli to respond to the allegations he made “dummy bids” on social media.
“I was a genuine buyer with every intention to purchase that property,” Portelli wrote.
“I’m happy to show my bank account for anyone that suggests these were dummy bids.”
Other contestants on The Block knew that Omar and Oz had spent time with Portelli before the finale and have backed up the trio’s version of events.
“I (saw) the boys (Omar and Oz) hanging out with that guy (Portelli) before the auction. They were at his house,” Jenny Heath said, adding that she didn’t believe that “dummy bids” were made and that they were just friends.
“They’re all mates and unfortunately we don’t have any millionaire mates.”
With Wallis ultimately bagging the home, along with the two others that sold at auction, Sharon Johal described it as “a clash of egos”.
“The only way I can describe it is a clash of egos. Two guys in a room trying to win the house and I think going in with a strong bid was so smart,” she said.
After their home passed at auction, Sharon and her husband Ankur Dogra are still working to find a buyer.
“We had people in the room that were willing to bid up to $5 million and $4.5 million, but something happened and they didn’t,” she explained.
“We’re discussing options with them today, and we’re having two new buyers to see the property.”
Jenny and her teammate Dylan Adams also failed to offload their home on the day.
“We’ve got 13 acres, everyone else has got 10, so it only makes sense for buyers. Fingers crossed,” Jenny said smiling.
As for the remaining teams who did sell, couple Rachel and Ryan told A Current Affair they “couldn’t be more thankful” for their $170,000 earnings, while Tom Calleja and Sarah-Jane Wilson said they were still grateful despite only winning $20,000.
“We’re still grateful, we’ve still got no regrets. It’s just back to plumbing. Need a dunny unblocked mate? Give me a yell,” Tom joked.
Image: A Current Affair
This article first appeared on OverSixty.