I was reading until I reached the end and realised that there was nothing wrong with the transaction based on the report. So why did he pay 3 time the value? He claims that he sees the development potential. There are thousands of investments around the World that you can flip and make immediate profits so why this property where you cannot realise any meaningful profits even after it is developed? It is also cannot be money laundering as the biggest beneficiary are the original owners of the site.
My view is that his own agents were eyeing the sizeable transaction % fee and must have conned him and he was trying to save face.