In a multi-state, multi-agency operation, Australian authorities announced that four individuals had been charged for their alleged involvement in an elaborate scheme that used a security firm as a front to launder millions through crypto exchanges and third-party businesses.
As a result, four people, including two executives of the security company and two individuals who allegedly helped funnel the laundered money through third-party companies, were charged with multiple counts of money laundering offences last Friday.
In December 2023, the Queensland Joint Organized Crime Taskforce (QJOCTF), comprised of 70 officers from multiple federal and state agencies, began investigating suspicious financial transactions linked to a Heathwood man and a security company.
The multi-agency investigation found that the company had received millions of dollars from suspicious third-party transactions. Although the source of the funds has not been identified, authorities discovered that the security firm converted $190 million, worth around $123 million, into cryptocurrencies.
The QJOCTF alleges that the Gold Coast-based security company had a complex network of bank accounts, businesses, couriers, and crypto wallets to launder millions of dollars from illicit funds.
Then, the criminal organization paid out to its beneficiaries using crypto or the associated third-party companies.
According to the announcement, the Heathwood man controlled the sales promotion company, which received AUD 9.5 million, or $6.19 million, in cash and cryptocurrencies from the security firm over 15 months.
Meanwhile, the director from the classic car dealership received AUD 6.4 million, approximately $4.17 million, from the security company and allegedly laundered it through his business over a 17-month period.
The car dealership director reportedly opened at least seven bank accounts with different banks to conceal the source of the money. The illicit funds were then allegedly mixed with legitimate money from the company before being transferred to the sales promotions business.
The Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) seized $13.7 million in assets across Queensland and New South Wales, suspected of being the proceeds of crime. Additionally, the QJOCTF seized multiple wallets containing $110,000 in cryptocurrencies, $19,560 in cash, encrypted devices, business records, and documents related to the alleged money laundering scheme.
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Deputy Commissioner John Ford affirmed that “Serious and organised crime harms our community, economy, government and way of life, and robs the community of funding for essential services such as health and education.”
Recently, Australia’s financial authorities and federal police warned that scammers are also using crypto ATMs to drain wallets across the country, and implemented new measures to keep users safe.
