Mauritius-based brokerage First Class Securities has sued Mr Safi and two of his Australian firms seeking a repayment of over $US7.2 million ($A10.7 million) allegedly unpaid as part of the investment deal.
During a Federal Court hearing on Friday, Mr Safi's solicitor Massi Ahmadzay asked the court to release $93,000 so his client could pay his lawyers, meet general living expenses and purchase flights back to Australia.
"My client has absolutely no access to any funds," he told Justice Cameron Moore.
The freezing order - which was described by Mr Ahmadzay as punitive - also affects Mr Safi's Melbourne-based businesses Paragon Finance Group and Global Future Holdings.
National Australia Bank and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia had blocked access to all local bank accounts including Mr Safi's personal account which only contained $1000, Mr Ahmadzay said.
Barrister Dinesh Ratnam said First Class Securities would allow a small amount to be released but only after Mr Safi disclosed exactly what assets he held and where.
The 44-year-old investment adviser had told First Class Securities he was a billionaire and sent a screenshot of an overseas bank account purporting to hold billions of dollars, Mr Ratnam said.
Justice Moore allowed $60,000 to be transferred into a trust account held by law firm Massi Ahmadzay & Associates.
A request for further money to cover $40,000 in rent owed in Dubai was knocked back by the judge who said the released funds were only to be used for legal and living expenses.
A hearing to either vary or set aside the freezing orders will be held in the first week of February.
First Class Securities put $US5 million ($A7.41 million) into the claimed investment project in late 2025 after being told they would be paid a 55 per cent return on investment equalling $US2.75 million ($A4.1 million) within 10 days.
In his judgment on Monday, Justice Yaseen Shariff called the arrangement extraordinary and "too good to be true".
The lawsuit seeks to claw back the amount allegedly owed after only $US550,000 ($A815,000) was repaid, court documents say.
Mr Safi allegedly claimed he would send the money by bank transfer.
He then allegedly sent First Class Securities a photograph of a pallet of cash and told them they could pick up the money from various unspecified individuals in Dubai.
He has been accused of breach of contract and making misleading statements surrounding the proposal.
Evidence put forward by First Class Securities has not been tested in court and no findings against Mr Safi have been made.
In 2017, Paragon Premier Investment Fund and Mr Safi floated bringing in $7 billion to build a third airport in Melbourne.
Despite claiming the airport would be operational by 2022, the project never got off the ground.
