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.
$123M Crypto Laundering Ring Busted
On Monday, the Australian government announced it had dismantled a money laundering ring operating behind a security company. The Queensland-based organization allegedly smuggled cash around Australia and laundered millions of dollars from criminals over the past few years.
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.
The company allegedly transferred cash between businesses and banks and mixed funds from its legitimate business arm with illicit money from suspected criminals. Additionally, the firm reportedly channeled the money through a web of transactions, including a sales promotion company, a classic car dealership, and crypto exchanges.
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.
Australian Authorities Fight Organized Crime
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.”
Similarly, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre’s (AUSTRAC) National Coordinator, Law Enforcement, Markus Erikson, underscored the importance of businesses and individuals who report to the agency, affirming that, “without their reporting, this disruption would not have been possible, and the offending may have continued undetected.”
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.
As reported by Bitcoinist, AUSTRAC announced a AUD 5,000, or $3,250, cash deposit and withdrawal limit at Crypto ATMs in the country, starting June 3, 2025. The new rule follows unique reports from 150 individuals, mostly over the age of 50, about crypto ATM scams, with the losses nearing $2 million between January 2024 and January 2025.
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