Australia dismantles a Money Laundering organization involving 190 million AUD in crypto assets.

On June 9, after an 18-month multi-agency joint investigation, Australian law enforcement agencies dismantled a sophisticated money laundering organization in Queensland, and four individuals were indicted. The group is suspected of secretly shipping cash across the country and laundering millions of dollars in crime proceeds. A 32-year-old man from Heathwood, Brisbane, has been charged with being a major client of the money laundering network, laundering about $9.5 million over a 15-month period. He was charged with money laundering and refusing to provide his mobile phone password on Thursday 5 June and has been remanded in custody and is expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates' Court today (9 June). Back in December 2023, QJOCTF began an investigation into suspicious financial transactions and eventually linked the man to a large company that accepted multiple suspicious third-party transfers. Investigators followed the flow of money and found him to be a client of a high-level money laundering network run by a security company on the Gold Coast. The security company has converted up to $190 million in cash into cryptocurrency through its armoured cash transport unit. Investigations into the source of the $190 million cash are ongoing. The Gold Coast-based security company used a complex network of bank accounts, businesses, couriers and cryptocurrency accounts to launder millions of dollars in illicit money over 18 months.