Australia Charges Four Over $123M Crypto Money Laundering Ring

Australian police have charged 4 over their alleged involvement in a Queensland-based cash laundering community that’s accused of transferring $123 million in illicit money into crypto.

On June 5–6, the Australian Federal Police (AFP)‑led Legal Belongings Confiscation Taskforce (CACT), alongside the Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (QJOCTF) and different companies, executed 14 focused raids throughout Brisbane and the Gold Coast following an 18-month federal investigation, in line with a Monday assertion from the Australian Taxation Workplace.

Investigators uncovered crypto estimated at $110,370, together with $30,000 in bodily money, encrypted gadgets, enterprise paperwork, autos, properties, and financial institution accounts.

Authorities allege the scheme funneled drug cash and felony proceeds via a Gold Coast safety firm that provided armored transport providers, then washed the funds utilizing shell companies, basic automobile gross sales, and crypto exchanges.

The corporate is accused of changing huge volumes of bodily money into crypto to obscure its origins.

‘We allege this organisation deliberately hid and disguised the supply, worth and nature of their illicit cash, and distanced themselves from the funds to attempt to keep away from getting caught by authorities,” stated AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer in a Monday assertion.

A 32-year-old man from Heathwood in Brisbane, accused of laundering $6.16 million over 15 months, has been remanded in custody and is showing in court docket immediately.

Authorities declare he used a gross sales promotion firm, registered in his spouse’s identify as a “straw director,” to obtain funds from the safety firm.

The corporate’s director and common supervisor, each from Maudsland, have been granted bail after being charged with dealing in proceeds of common crime value over $6.4 million.

A 58-year-old West Finish man, linked to a basic automobile dealership accused of washing $4.1 million, additionally faces a number of cash laundering expenses.

Crypto and cash laundering

The case reveals how crypto is more and more used to cover illicit funds, with Australian authorities warning it is a favored software for organized crime.

CACT has restrained over $110 million in property previously 12 months, a lot of it crypto-related, bringing whole seizures since 2019 to $1.2 billion.

In July 2024, the AFP-led CACT restrained $333,779 in crypto as a part of a $10.1 million asset seizure within the Gold Coast cash laundering case.

The restrained property additionally included seven properties value $8.4 million, $1.12 million in money, and over $76,000 held throughout a number of financial institution accounts.

Final month, a Queensland man forfeited a $2.9 million portfolio, together with a waterfront mansion and almost 25 BTC, after AUSTRAC, Australia’s monetary intelligence company, flagged suspicious exercise linked to a 2013 crypto theft.