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26th November 2020

NSW Police, AUSTRAC Disrupt Money Laundering Operation

Two men have been arrested and charged over illegal transfers of currency into offshore accounts as part of an investigation that began in June. Australian police have charged two men in NSW as part of ongoing investigations into an international money laundering operation. The two were arrested last week and… Read More

23rd November 2020

Australia: Liquid meth worth $123m found in mustard bottles

Four alleged members of a sophisticated Vietnamese-Australian crime syndicate have been arrested after $123 million worth of liquid methamphetamine was found concealed in a shipment of mustard bottles. Border force officials intercepted a shipment of more than 1600 bottles of classic yellow mustard that arrived via air cargo from Chicago… Read More

20th November 2020

Crown chief had to be ‘led by nose’ to ‘irresistible’ money laundering realisation: inquiry

Crown Resorts cannot be trusted to hold the gaming licence for its new Sydney casino because it continually resisted warning signs money laundering was occurring at its Melbourne and Perth venues and had to be “led by the nose” to the “obvious” and “irresistible” realisation, an inquiry has heard. The… Read More

20th November 2020

Former Australian executive arrested, charged over alleged oil bribery plot

Australia’s longest-running bribery investigation came to a head on Wednesday with the arrest in Queensland of a former senior executive from construction giant Leighton Holdings over his alleged involvement in a $1 billion international graft scandal. The charging of Russell Waugh comes after two Monaco-based brothers turned police supergrasses… Read More

19th November 2020

Australia: ex-Labor staffer investigated for money laundering after bundles of cash found at home

An explosive foreign interference investigation into a New South Wales Labor MP’s former staffer has widened to focus on money laundering after around $60,000 in bundles of cash was seized from the Chinese-Australian man’s Sydney home. Documents filed in the High Court by lawyers for the prime suspect, 62-year-old John… Read More

19th November 2020

Sydney men arrested after allegedly sending stolen $2.3 million offshore

Two southern Sydney men have been charged with dozens of offences under money laundering laws for allegedly transferring at least $2.3 million offshore after nine victims across Australia were defrauded of the money. NSW Police arrested the men, Mark Estephan and Jamie Ronald Close, on Tuesday following a fraud investigation… Read More

18th November 2020

Australian accused of promoting alleged $US2.5b BitConnect Ponzi scheme charged

The Australian man accused of running the local arm of an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that torched $US2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) of investment worldwide has been charged with offences that carry jail terms of up to ten years. John Louis Anthony Bigatton, first reported in early 2019 by The Age and The Sydney… Read More

17th November 2020

Crown cuts all junket partnerships

Crown says it will stop dealing with any junket operators unless they are licensed, as unprecedented scrutiny of their use by three regulators puts pressure on the company’s casino licences and its share price. The decision, which Crown announced to the ASX on Tuesday morning, builds on the company’s move in… Read More

17th November 2020

NSW Government bought land for three times its value for light rail project

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the Government’s $53.5 million purchase of a highly contaminated parcel of land near Parramatta should be fully investigated and could be sent to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog. Ms Berejiklian was responding to a joint 7.30 and The Sydney Morning Herald investigation into a… Read More

13th November 2020

AUSTRAC prepares engagement blitz

Financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC is preparing to unleash a wave of guidance including as many as five detailed risk assessments for banks and non-bank lenders and a new division that will engage directly with regulated entities and spell out what is expected of them. The enigmatic regulator is preparing as… Read More

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