Ali Elamine leaving the Baabda court, in Lebanon. Picture: Liam Kidston

The answer: Zero.

Ali Elamine, whose family dispute became headline news around the country this month, told The Project he wasn’t paid a cent by 60 Minutes despite the network allegedly hiring child abduction experts to kidnap his two children.

Asked by the hosts of the Channel 10 panel show if he’d received any money from the network to drop charges against reporter Tara Brown and her film crew, Mr Elamine responded: “Negative”.

“I’ve been hearing more than $3 million, I’ve heard $10 million at one point,” he said, laughing.

“Yeah, no, I didn’t communicate any money, I don’t communicate... I didn’t sign on any money, none of that happened,” he said.

Host Waleed Aly followed up with a pointed question.

“So, to be clear, we’re not going to hear a story in weeks, months, years later that there was any money involved?” he asked. “That Channel Nine paid you anything?”

“Yup,” Mr Elamine responed.

Mr Elamine would not be drawn on whether another member of his family received a payment.

“I can’t comment on that,” he said. “If anyone around me or someone ... Umm ... The way... The way I looked at it from a political side it was more ... It was more like ... I think the Australian government pushed hard for the release of the Channel Nine crew ... and I think the Lebanese judge saw it as, like, you know, I should drop the personal charges just because they weren’t involved.

“Again, I have no idea (if money changed hands). My lawyer, or myself, never communicated anything in regard to that.”

Reporters working in Lebanon report Mr Elamine did in fact receive some payment. News Corp journalists David Murray and Jacquelin Magnay report Channel Nine paid $US500,000 to Mr Elamine in the official settlement registered with the prosecuting judge.

During his interview with The Project, Mr Elamine said he hoped the children’s mother knew she had crossed a line.

“I hope she knows it was wrong,” he said.

He said he hoped down the track the family could come back together, even in some small way.

“She can communicate with them through Skype and she can come visit them. Just until things settle, you know, and put everything behind us and then down the line we can probably head over to (Australia) or meet up in some country where she can be around her babies and we’re all together.

“The whole family thing, I mean, she went down her own road and, you know, I’m here working and with the kids. So, yeah, it’s a bit, it’s difficult, I guess.”

Earlier in the day, Mr Elamine told Kyle and Jackie O on KIIS 106.5 he believes he was deliberately deceived into being away from his children — with a surf lesson used as a diversion.

He said he received a Facebook message asking for a surf lesson at the time he normally drops his children at school.

The “insistent” client asked for it to take place at 7am and he initially said no, explaining that he needed to drop the children off.

However, he eventually agreed after his mother stepped in to take them instead.

“I run a surf school called Surf Lebanon and I got a Facebook message asking me if I could give a lesson at 7am but I said I had to drop kids off,” he told the hosts.

He said the client kept on insisting and his mother who occasionally dropped the kids at school agreed to take the children instead.

When asked if he believed the lesson was orchestrated he said he believed it was a diversion.

Ali Elamine with his children Noah and Lahela. Picture: FacebookSource:Facebook

“They did a run on Tuesday and saw me with the kids but never went through with it because they figured I’d fight back. And they figured if they get me away then an older lady in her 70s and her helper won’t be much of a threat ... to a 6”3 guy,” he said.

The American-Lebanese father also insisted he has done nothing wrong regarding the children and it was those involved in the kidnap attempt who have broken the law.

Mr Elamine said he himself hadn’t broken any laws and that he wasn’t even divorced from Australian wife Sally Faulkner.

He admitted to Kyle and Jackie O, that he was aware of the plot after following her conversations over an iPad and pleaded with her not to do anything to risk the safety of the children.

“I really hope I get something but my main deal with Sally was dropping the custody — it was all about the custody of the kids, I couldn’t care about Channel 9,” he said.

Sally Faulkner was arrested after an attempt to abduct her children from their father failed.Source:Supplied

“Money is not an issue all I care about is kids. The only thing I requested is not to use the footage (kidnap) and keep the kids out of this, they’re only hurting the kids,” he said.

Kyle then asked who was being paid.

“It’s Lebanon, someone is getting paid. Did they pay the judicial system, the brown paper bag is allowed sometimes right?”

Mr Elamine added that “to be honest it’s more of a political thing”, and said he still believed the best place for them was in Lebanon with him.

When Jackie asked him what it was about Sally’s parenting style he didn’t like he said: “Lahela kept on telling me mummy’s friends would sleep in the same bed and was always around, and I wasn’t OK with that,” he said.

Jackie asked if that was her current husband or partner but he said they were still married so it wasn’t her husband.

Ali Elamine lets his lawyer Hussein Berjawi do the talking when leaving the Palace of Justice, Baabda, Lebanon. Picture: Liam KidstonSource:News Corp Australia

“We’re not divorced yet so she can’t remarry, she obviously figured the only way to get ‘em was to kidnap ‘em or whatever,” he said.

Mr Elamine also denied he was taking his time and trying to make them all suffer in the lead up to the charges being dropped.

“That’s not true,” he said.

“Initially everyone wanted to ride off Sal’s back so someone has to pay. Everyone broke a country’s law, my mum received concussion.

“She’s a 70-year-old lady who got chucked around like she’s a bag of chips.

“Someone did that and someone has to pay.”

Acknowledging the 60 Minutes crew were just doing their job, he said the child recovery agency should face justice.

Mr Elamine dropped the charges against his estranged wife, Ms Faulkner, saying he did not want his children to think he’d left their mother in jail.

However it came at price — in return she must grant him a divorce and custody of the children.

She has rights to visit them in a third country or Lebanon, but not in Australia.

Child Abduction Recovery Network boss Adam Whittington and fellow Briton Craig Michael remain in jail.

‘NOT AS POWERFUL AS WE THINK’

Mr Elamine enjoys a relatively comfortable life in Lebanon but is hardly the influential wealthy person some would believe.

Australian Muslim community leader Jamal Rifi told news.com.au that Mr Elamine was far from powerful and therefore couldn’t use his influence to his advantage in this case.

Responding to speculation about the strength of his power within Lebanon, Dr Rifi said Mr Elamine was middle class and while distantly related to a member of the parliament, was just like any other person.

It was reported earlier this month that the release of the 60 Minutes crew was complicated by Mr Elamine’s political connections.

His mother is the cousin of the Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament Nabih Berri, Fairfax reported.

However Dr Rifi insists he would have had no bearing on the outcome of the case.

“He (Mr Berri) had nothing at all to do with this, he did not play a role,” he said.

“And he (Mr Elamine) is not wealthy, he is just middle class.”

Dr Rifi said claims that political party Hezbollah were involved in the case were also untrue with the botched attempt “an embarrassment to all parties involved.”

“Lebanese decision makers and government officials would have wanted a quick resolution so as to not affect diplomatic ties with Australia,” Dr Rifi said.

While acknowledging Mr Elamine did ask for money from Channel 9, Dr Rifi said he had not received it “as yet.”

He also praised Channel 9 for using all legal, political and diplomatic means possible to get its team out of the situation quickly.