His blood was later found on the carpet of a Bankstown unit and his rental car agreement dumped in a bin at a Casula hotel.

On the day he vanished, Minh Phuoc (Paul) Nguyen, 50, took some distressing phone calls and told family he needed to sort out a business "complication".

Police will allege this "complication" somehow involved Zulfukar Aljubouri, 23, who was charged with one count of murder on Wednesday, a year after Mr Nguyen's disappearance.

The accused Casula man entered Liverpool Local Court barefoot and appeared relaxed as Magistrate Roger Prowse formally refused him bail.

An alleged co-offender, 19, was also charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. He was 17 at the time of the alleged offence and will appear at Campbelltown Children's Court on Thursday.

Homicide detectives arrested the pair during early morning raids of three properties at Liverpool, Casula and Smithfield.

Documents tendered to court allege Mr Aljubouri played a role in killing the former Bakers Delight franchise owner at a unit in Dudley Street, Bankstown some time between May 1 and May 3 last year.

Detectives believe Mr Nguyen may have been targeted because of his links to organised crime but said they have failed to find any trace of his body or the rental car in which he was seen leaving the Hilton Hotel on George Street, Sydney.

Fairfax Media has previously reported that police believe the Vietnamese businessman may have been associating with the same criminal underworld figures who have been linked to slain drug dealer Jamie Gao and a high roller who was shot outside McDonald's in Sydney's inner west.

Three days after his disappearance a group of cannabis-smoking hotel guests unwittingly gave police a few extra clues.

Police said the group set off the fire alarms at the Fountainbleau Motel in Casula on the Hume Highway after smoking heavily inside.

In the corner of the room was a bin that contained the rental car agreement belonging to Mr Nguyen, an empty mobile phone box and the stub of a boarding pass, police said.

Police also seized business cards that belonged to Mr Nguyen's friends and associates.

Mr Nguyen's brother, Tony Nguyen, has told Fairfax Media the businessman acted strangely in the lead-up to his disappearance.

"He handed my sister-in-law's passport back to her that night and said, 'I'm meeting up with someone and it could be complicated.' "

Tony Nguyen said his brother was a loving father and successful businessman who had recently sold two Bakers Delight stores at Carlingford; a Bread Top shop at Chatswood and a Parramatta pizzeria.

"It's pretty tough for my whole family and we've been so close together as brothers and I'm finding it very, very hard to cope," he said.

Police did not rule out further arrests and said search warrants continued.

Detectives are still searching for Mr Nguyen's remains and the car which is described as a gold-metallic Renault Latitude with Victorian registration ZXH 305.

Mr Aljubouri is expected to appear before Burwood Local Court on July 8.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000