Australia Dismantles a Cryptocurrency Money Laundering Syndicate, Involving up to 1.9 Billion AUD

BlockBeats News, June 9th, Australian law enforcement agencies have dismantled an organization suspected of conducting sophisticated money laundering in Queensland after an 18-month multi-agency investigation, with four individuals charged. The organization allegedly secretly transported cash nationwide and laundered millions of Australian dollars in proceeds of crime.

A 32-year-old man from Heathwood, Brisbane, has been charged as a key customer of the money laundering network, laundering approximately 9.5 million Australian dollars over 15 months. He was charged with money laundering and refusal to provide a mobile phone password on June 5th (Thursday) and has been remanded in custody, expected to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today (June 9th).

As early as December 2023, the QJOCTF began investigating suspicious financial transactions and eventually linked the man to a large company that received multiple suspicious third-party transfers. Investigators followed the money trail and discovered he was a customer of a sophisticated money laundering network operated by a Gold Coast security company. This security company converted up to 190 million Australian dollars in cash into cryptocurrency through its cash-in-transit department. The investigation into the source of this 190 million Australian dollars in cash is still ongoing.

This Gold Coast-based security company utilized a complex network of bank accounts, businesses, couriers, and cryptocurrency accounts to launder millions of Australian dollars in illicit funds over 18 months.