AFP, ATO raid Scale Facilitation HQ in North Geelong after alleged tax fraud

An international investment company’s North Geelong HQ was raided by federal police on Friday as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud.

A North Geelong office was raided on Friday by the Australian Federal Police. Pictured, Scale Facilitation founder David Collard.

A North Geelong office, linked to large-scale plans for a battery factory in Avalon, has been raided by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) as part of an investigation into “allegations of tax fraud”.

The headquarters of Scale Facilitation, an international investment company behind plans for a lithium-ion battery facility, was raided by officers from the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce on Friday.

It is understood it was one of several raids in relation to the allegations.

There were reports officers armed with evidence bags and blue gloves were seen at the property in Mackey St.

It comes less than a week after it was reported local staff and some vendors working on the battery project had not been paid for several weeks.

An AFP spokeswoman confirmed officers had searched the office in relation to alleged tax fraud as part of a joint investigation with other federal departments, including the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), but would not provide further comment as the investigation remains ongoing.

An ATO spokeswoman said it also could not comment on the investigation.

Scale Facilitation is the parent company of Recharge Industries, which plan to open a lithium-ion battery cell production facility – dubbed a “gigafactory” – in Avalon.

The facility planned to employ thousands of people in a boost to local manufacturing in the region.

Concept image of Recharge Industries new large-scale lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility at Avalon.

Reports circulated earlier this week said staff and vendors had gone unpaid for several weeks due to money being “tied up” in England.

There was also speculation that lease payments on the factory site in Avalon had lapsed.

A Recharge Industries spokeswoman confirmed at the time of the reports there had been “delays” due to “global money transfer” but it was working to rectify the issue.

She also said there were “no outstanding lease payments” at its factory site, and the company remained “firmly committed” to its Australian plans.

The first stage of the Avalon facility is expected to produce up to six gigawatts of batteries each year and employ more than 400 people.

Once complete, the company said the project could generate up to 30GWh hours of storage capacity and support “thousands” of jobs.

Originally published as AFP, ATO raid Scale Facilitation HQ in North Geelong after alleged tax fraud