Omar Slaimankhel and Osman “Oz” Malik‘s The Block 2022 win is now being questioned after claims that millionaire Adrian Portelli was a “dummy bidder”.

ICYMI: House Five sold for a record-breaking $1,586,666.66 during the November 6 finale, but some aren’t convinced it was all above board.

Now, as reported in episode 227 of the So Dramatic! podcast, it has been revealed that Omar and Oz are friends with Adrian (outside of the show), who sparked a bidding war with IT entrepreneur Danny Wallis — the bidder who eventually bought the property.

So Dramatic! has obtained exclusive images showing Adrian— the founder of LMCT+ (a car and house giveaway organisation) — hanging out at House Five in recent weeks.

In one photo originally shared on his Instagram story, Adrian is seen posing in front of the property with Oz.

A second photo shows him smoking shisha on the verandah of the property at sunset.

Adrian also follows both of the Sydneysiders’ personal Instagram accounts and vice versa. The trio share a substantial number of mutual friends, too.

Omar and Oz’s The Block Co-Stars Have Spoken Out About House Five’s HUGE Win

Several of Omar and Oz’s The Block co-stars have expressed suspicions over Adrian’s bidding tactics since the November 6 auction.

“The other couples are not happy and are accusing the boys of a ‘dummy’ bid,” one insider told So Dramatic!.

A “dummy bid” is either a false bid made up by the auctioneer or a bid accepted by the auctioneer from a non-genuine bidder in the crowd, usually to raise bidding and influence the sale price after the reserve has been reached.

These can be done by the owner, their family or friends, the auctioneer, or any other “planted” individual. Dummy bids are illegal and attract significant penalties of over $50,000.

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Another contestant confirmed Omar and Oz’s affiliation with Adrian to So Dramatic!, revealing that he had spent a significant amount of time on The Block.

“Of course, they’re friends with Adrian! They spent the past two weeks every night with him,” they dished. “It was all over theirs and Adrian’s Insta stories.”

However, the contestant explained that their suspicions had fallen on deaf ears.

“We can’t be bothered complaining and coming across as bitter because that’s all people will think if any of us speak out about them,” they continued.

“It’s not about being bitter; it’s just we all wanted a fair game, and it wasn’t one at all.”

Contestants from The Block have raised suspicions about Omar and Oz’s auction result. Source: Nine.

The contestant also suggested that Channel Nine “protected Omar and Oz the whole time”.

“They did dodgy stuff but never said anything because no one wants to be called racist when it had nothing to do with their race! They just pull strings like puppet masters,” they concluded.

The Block 2022‘s Jenny Heath Said Adrian Portelli’s Bid Was Part of a “Game”

Omar and Oz’s co-star Jenny Heath agreed that the pair wouldn’t have won if their friend didn’t bid during the auction.

“They’ve been hanging out with that guy the past couple of weeks. We know the game they were playing,” she said during the November 6 broadcast.

“If Omar and Oz’s millionaire friend didn’t show up, they wouldn’t have done well either.”

dylan jenny the block auction
Jenny Heath suggested Omar and Oz “wouldn’t have done well” had Adrian not been there. Source: Nine.

This sentiment rang true in a chat with 9Entertainment in an interview moments after their auction.

“I’m pissed off, TBH,” Jenny said at the time, adding that she felt the pair had used Danny’s competitive nature to their advantage.

“They knew that Danny is very competitive,” she explained. “I just feel like they were playing the game the whole time, and it shows. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, and obviously, it paid off, didn’t it.” 

So Dramatic! has reached out to Channel Nine, Omar, Oz and Adrian for comment.

The Block 2021‘s Josh Packham Expressed Suspicions In Regards to House Five’s Millionaire Bidder

The Block 2021 contestant Josh Packham took to Instagram after the auction to send his condolences to the three couples whose homes were passed in. He also questioned Adrian’s motives for bidding on House Five.

“It’s sort of becoming an unfair competition because there is a recipe, and it’s very obvious now if you want to win The Block, you need Danny Wallis to bid on your house, and you need a very strong underbidder.

“Because if Danny wants the house, he will keep bidding no matter what. I mean, he will go up to six, seven, eight million if necessary, I guarantee you. And I think that’s what we saw play out.”

He then described Adrian as Omar and Oz’s “underbidder”, noting that the Queenslander makes his money by raffling off properties.

“Now, it would make sense to have a raffle for a Block house. That would be really cool,” Josh said. “However, he bid $5.5 million for that house and then walked away.

“He could have bought any of the other four houses for $4.2 million, so there’s a massive question mark why [he didn’t bid on another house].”

Shelley Craft Hits Back at Speculation Over Adrian Portelli’s Legitimacy

The Block mainstay Shelley Craft has since weighed in on the terse speculation, confessing on Today Extra that Adrian is “absolutely a legit buyer”.

“You’ve got two titans in a room, being Danny Wallis and this Adrian character, who were going toe-to-toe,” she said on November 7.

shelley craft omar oz adrian
Shelley Craft denied any foul play during The Block 2022 auctions. Source: Nine.

“I don’t know if you’ve got mates who are willing to chump up a million bucks for you… but he wanted the home, and he really did take it to battle.”

Omar and Oz Didn’t Appear to Hide Their Friendship with Adrian Portelli

It seems like their friendship and clever bidding strategy isn’t something Omar and Oz were trying to hide during the auction.

A number of the trio’s mutual friends tagged them all in Instagram stories, making jokes about the auction results and congratulating Adrian on his bidding performance on the show.

“@adrian_portelli made old mate pay,” one person wrote.

“Haha good work on the bid,” another said.

“@adrian_portelli is a ducking sick c*nt,” another exclaimed with a laughing face emoji.

“What a gansta [sic] @adrian_portelli you are inspiring A,” one of their mates wrote.

Another even brazenly said they “saw that coming” alongside a laughing emoji.

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, fans also clocked a tell-tale sign that Omar and Oz had courted Adrian for their auction.

Just moments before bidding began, the LMCT+ founder was seen high-fiving Omar, Oz and their auctioneer.

adrian omar oz auction friends
Adrian was seen celebrating prior to the auction with Omar, Oz and their auctioneer. Source: Nine.

What’s more, is that the Blockheads expressed, “that’s my boy!” when Adrian’s bids skyrocketed during the auction.

Adrian Portelli Hits Back at Claims He Is a “Dummy” Bidder

After So Dramatic! put the allegations of unscrupulous bidding to Adrian, he did not respond directly, but he did post a statement on his Instagram story moments later.

“FOR EVERYONE QUESTIONING THE LEGITAMACY [sic] OF THE AUCTION, I WAS A GENUINE BUYER WITH EVERY INTENTION TO PURCHASE THAT PROPERTY.” he penned. “NOBODY IS TO BLAME FOR WHAT HAPPENED IT’S AN AUCTION.

“BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BUT IF YOU’VE GOT TWO PEOPLE THAT GENUINELY WANT THE PROPERTY, A BIDDING WAR WILL COMMENCE. [sic]”

He then added that he’s “happy to show [his] bank account” to put the claims of dummy bidding to rest.

omar and oz adrian portelli the block
Adrian denied the claims that he was a “dummy” bidder for Omar and Oz. Source: Instagram.

Adrian further defended the claims on November 7 on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

According to the 32-year-old, he only met Omar and Oz “a few weeks ago” and had planned to “give the house away” as part of his Little Legends Foundation for underprivileged children.

However, newsreader Brooklyn Ross wasn’t totally convinced.

“If you were going to give away the house, then why not just buy one of the others cheaper?” he grilled Adrian.

Seemingly unconfident in his response, the entrepreneur stammered: “They… they don’t appeal… like, you’ve got a tennis court, you’ve got the pool, you’ve got the golf green, you know?”

He also said he’d “looked at a couple” of The Block homes, but they “didn’t appeal” to him.

adrian portelli
Adrian told The Kyle and Jackie O Show that he only met Omar and Oz a few weeks ago. Source: Instagram.

This response didn’t pacify the KIIS FM team, with guest booker Jaimee ‘Mayo’ Hassos extremely sus of Adrian’s following comment.

“If Danny didn’t bid, I would have been stuck with the house. You know what I mean? No dummy bidding here. All intentional,” he said.

Jaimee went on to explain that she thought “stuck with the house” was interesting “wording” before asking: “Did you REALLY want the house?”

“It was a good promotional tool for my business,” Adrian concluded.

The Block‘s Omar and Oz Respond to Claims That Adrian Portelli’s Auction Bid Was “Dodgy”

Omar and Oz have repeatedly been bogged down by claims of “dodgy” antics throughout the season, and their The Block win has faced the same fate — much to the disgust of fans who have dubbed the allegations as “racist”.

Now, the Western Sydney besties have hit back at claims they enlisted their mate Adrian to bid on their home.

Chatting with NOVA’s Fitzy & Wippa on November 7, Omar said this “couldn’t be further from the truth” and downplayed their friendship with Adrian.

“We reached out to everyone that Oz and I knew. We asked so many people to come through and see the house,” he said.

According to the father of two, a mutual friend suggested Adrian would be interested in House Five.

“And when he did come, he absolutely loved it,” Omar continued. “He said he loved his views from our house.”

Still unsure about Adrian’s legitimacy, Michael “Wippa” Wipfli questioned if he had the means to purchase the property.

“He is very, very, very, very successful,” Omar confirmed.

“He’s got a lot of businesses. He’s just a very, very successful businessman.”

Want even more goss? Listen to episode 227 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!

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