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Organised crime

October

Labor, Coalition clash over laws for lawyers, accountants, realtors

Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash roundly criticised plans to expand anti-money laundering laws to the three professions.

  • Ronald Mizen

September

A Porsche Cayenne GTS, a Porsche 911 GT3 and two Wolf GB08 Tornado racing cars are among 30 cars, bikes, trucks and go-carts confiscated from instigators of the Plutus Payroll tax scandal to be auctioned off.

Luxury cars among Plutus Payroll tax fraud spoils up for grabs

A Porsche Cayenne GTS, a Porsche 911 GT3 and two Wolf GB08 Tornado racing cars are among 30 vehicles confiscated from instigators of the fraud that will be auctioned off.

  • Ronald Mizen
Know your customer: New rules to prevent dirty money will be in place for the real estate industry by end-March 2026.

Real estate agents face costs to meet new money laundering rules

Australia is at the bottom of a global compliance ranking to halt dirty money flows. Fixing that will raise costs for real estate agents.

  • Michael Bleby

April

The man who cracked Japan’s crime gangs is back for a sequel

Jake Adelstein’s Tokyo Vice exposed Japan’s yakuza. Now he’s out of police protection and releasing a new book.

  • Michael Smith
Lobby group ClubsNSW says its members had recently met with the financial crime watchdog to ensure they were complying with anti-money laundering laws.

NSW clubs ‘acutely aware’ of money laundering laws

Lobby group ClubsNSW said its members had recently met with the financial crime watchdog to ensure they were complying with anti-money laundering laws.

  • Ronald Mizen
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AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas.

AUSTRAC targets clubs’ pokies in $70b money laundering crackdown

New CEO Brendan Thomas says “massive” clubs that rival Sydney’s Star casino and host three in four of the states pokies pose a “significant risk”.

  • Ronald Mizen

March

When customers send money overseas, CBA checks they are not on government ‘sanctions lists’, slowing down many legitimate payments.

CBA backs UK start-up improving screening for financial crime

Global Screening Services now counts CBA as a shareholder. It’s building standards for banks to check cross-border payments against sanctions lists.

  • James Eyers
Federal Police executed search warrants at on the Gold Coast.

Dirty money reforms loom as Russians charged over $2m deposits

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is consulting on changes expected to add real estate agents, accountants and lawyers to anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing rules.

  • Tom McIlroy

January

Around $7 billion to $11 billion of Australia’s cash is being used to facilitate crime.

Most cash is being hoarded, and lots used for crime, says RBA

As the RBA and lenders respond to crisis in cash distribution, new analysis shows up to 80pc of cash is being hoarded, while up to 11pc is in criminal hands.

  • James Eyers

December 2023

Federal police seize a car in the bust.

Billion-dollar AFP busts reveal what criminals do with their money

A police taskforce has seized more than $1.1 billion worth of assets from alleged criminals, including fancy houses, fast cars, designer gear and bags of cash.

  • Patrick Durkin

October 2023

Jason Ford leads the Cyberattack Simulation team at Accenture.

Inside the secret Accenture team trying to hack the banks

Jason Ford and his “red teams” have been breaking into banks by fooling workers with the latest psychological tricks targeting the human foibles that leave IT defences vulnerable.

  • James Eyers
AFP arrest one man in Melbourne’s Glen Iris believed to be former ANZ employee Dang Wing.

Ex-ANZ employee among suspects in huge money-laundering ring

The Australian Financial Review can reveal a former ANZ employee is among seven ringleaders accused of running Australia’s biggest money-laundering operation.

  • Patrick Durkin and Lucas Baird
AFP arrest one man in Melbourne’s Glen Iris.

‘Shiny shopfronts’ led police to bust $10b Chinese crime ring

Seven people have been arrested in connection to an alleged Chinese money laundering ring whose operators were said to lead lives of luxury.

  • Patrick Durkin

Why NZ’s likely new PM channels Mark McGowan

The man widely tipped to become New Zealand’s next prime minister says he’s looked to Australia to develop many of his signature policies.

  • Tom Rabe

August 2023

Woolworths Group had a strong second half in fiscal 2023.

Food spurs Woolies growth, but toasters off the menu

The supermarket group says food price inflation is easing, but sales at its discount chain softened dramatically in the fourth quarter.

  • Updated
  • Carrie LaFrenz
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Australian Border Force says illicit tobacco is a growing industry for organised crime groups.

Illegal tobacco, rising cigarette prices dent supermarket profits

Master Grocers Association chief David Inall says illicit tobacco is a significant concern for its 2700 members, mostly independent grocery and liquor stores.

  • Carrie LaFrenz

July 2023

Dev Menon outside court in Sydney in February 2023.

Plutus lawyer jailed nine years for ‘biggest tax fraud’

Dev Menon’s abuse of his professional status and the trust placed in it exacerbated his persistent course of conduct throughout his involvement.

  • Jack Gramenz

June 2023

The lawyer found guilty of the Plutus tax fraud Dev Menon is expected to be sentenced in the coming days.

Corrupt lawyer in Plutus tax fraud ‘abused trust’

Prosecutors are gunning for a stiff sentence for a senior conspirator in the $105 million Plutus tax fraud, saying his status as a lawyer made his offending worse.

  • David Marin-Guzman

May 2023

Siblings Lauren and Adam Cranston leave Darlinghurst Courthouse in 2022.

Lauren Cranston jailed for eight years for Plutus tax fraud

The daughter of a former deputy tax commissioner has been sentenced to eight years in prison for her role in one of Australia’s largest tax frauds after the judge found she showed no remorse.

  • Updated
  • David Marin-Guzman

April 2023

Councils in Sydney’s inner and eastern suburbs are allowing hardly any new construction.

Accountants, estate agents may have to report dirty cash suspicions

As many as 100,000 accountants, lawyers and real estate agents look set to be required by law to report suspicious financial transactions to authorities.

  • Tom McIlroy

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/organised-crime-609