Alleged $17m ATO fraud syndicate chief George Alex prepares to face Sydney court
George Alex, the alleged ringleader of an alleged multimillion-dollar ATO tax fraud syndicate, that saw Michael Ibrahim’s wife arrested this week, is preparing for his first day in a Sydney court after being extradited from Queensland.
NSW
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One of the alleged chiefs of a $17m tax fraud syndicate has been released on bail as more members, including the alleged ringleader, prepare for their first day in a Sydney court.
Pasquale “Peter” Loccisano was extradited from Queensland on charges of conspiring to cause loss and dealing with the proceeds of crime to the value of more than $1 million.
He faced Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday where he was released on strict conditional bail.
An eye-watering $500,000 bail will need to be posted on his behalf.
Loccisano was one of 12 people Australian Federal Police swooped on this week across Queensland, NSW and the ACT.
The “co-ordinated strike”, the AFP says, was designed to dismantle a sophisticated tax fraud operation that allegedly diverted $17.5m away from the public purse and into private bank accounts.
Properties, boats and offshore bank accounts were allegedly used by the syndicate‘s financial brains to conceal the cash.
The alleged chief, Sydney construction figure George Alex, is expected to front the same court on Friday.
With Loccisano being released, Alex is now the only member of the dozen to remain in custody.
Loccisano’s prominent defence lawyer, Abbas Soukie, secured bail for Loccisano’s wife, Cheryl Rostron, and the wife of Michael Ibrahim, Caitlin Hall, who walked free on $100,000 bail.
They face similar charges of dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Also among those arrested in the Queensland dawn raids but released on bail in Queensland, is Alex‘s 22-year-old son Arthur.
Two bodyguards tried to shield him as he walked free on $100,000 bail on Thursday.
They ushered him into a waiting van on the sidewalk.
The five men granted bail in Queensland, charged with conspiracy to cause loss and dealing in the proceeds of crime, were ordered to front a Sydney court on Friday.
Only the elder Alex will make his journey down in police custody after his bail was refused.
The Queensland court heard the 49-year-old will vigorously defend charges including conspiracy to defraud and dealing with proceeds of crime worth more than $1,000,000.
If found guilty he faces a maximum 25 years in prison.
His lawyer, Chris Nyst, said few of the AFP’s intercepted phone calls related to his client.
“There is no smoking gun,” he told the court on Wednesday.
“In all of those hundreds of calls or conversations, very few, perhaps fewer than 10, are said to involve the defendant at all.”
Among those arrested on the Gold Coast was former New Zealand man Mark Bryers.
Bryers, who lives in Sydney but was on the Gold Coast when he was arrested, was once believed to be New Zealand’s biggest bankrupt with an estimated more than $230 million in debts.
In court on Wednesday, Bryers was silent, looking around the court briefly before attentively listening to lawyers as they spoke.
Australian Federal Police investigations commander Kirsty Schofield said organised crime syndicates “are actively recruiting specialists from the finance, accounting, legal and banking sectors”.
Ms Schofield said police will allege this syndicate included a mix of financial industry experts “required to commit the fraud and keep it ongoing”.
“We allege that (this) syndicate leader brought (such a) group together,” she said.
Many of the alleged syndicate members, including Loccisano, Nostrom and Hall, are expected before the same court again in September.