Plan to stop crooks clawing back confiscated assets
New laws are being considered to stop gangland crooks, like Tony Mokbel, whose court cases may have been tainted by double-dealing barrister Nicola Gobbo from trying to gain back confiscated assets.
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New laws to stop gangland crooks like Tony Mokbel getting back millions of dollars in seized assets even if their convictions are overturned are being considered.
High-level sources have told the Herald Sun the State Government is probing the legislation in the wake of the Lawyer X scandal.
Drug king Mokbel — who is trying to use barrister-turned police snitch Nicola Gobbo’s conduct to be set free — amassed an ill-gotten fortune with associates worth more than $60m.
Only last week acquitted drug trafficker Zlate Cvetanovski became the second man to have his conviction quashed because Gobbo was secretly informing on him.
He too lost properties seized under confiscation laws.
“They’re (the government) certainly worried about it,” an insider said.
The Lawyer X royal commission found 1011 people may have had their cases tainted and the fallout from the scandal will plague Victoria’s justice system for years.
But Mokbel and his one-time associates loom as the most obvious threat to the Andrews Government at making a play for tens of millions of dollars in seized assets.
It is feared Mokbel could take legal action against the government to have at least a slice of these assets, which were funnelled into the state’s coffers, reimbursed.
The tally by 2008 included 61 houses, 36 cars, 11 motorcycles, hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewellery and more than $1.5 million in cash stashed in bank accounts.
Mokbel, or any other figure making a claim, would have to prove the assets were purchased legitimately.
Carl Williams’ ex wife Roberta, who has already made attempts in the Supreme Court to have their former Essendon townhouse returned, could also emerge to fight for stripped assets.
Gobbo, in a letter to police, estimated that overall she had helped the force seize in excess of $80m.
The infamous lawyer was herself awarded $2.88m from the state, and wanted more.
She claimed in mid-2009 she would take $30 million as her piece of the pie in seizures generated from her intelligence and go into witness protection.
The Andrews Government, however, will not comment on whether it will nullify compensation claims over wrongful convictions.
Freed prisoner Faruk Orman, whose murder conviction was overturned in July, 2019, because of Gobbo’s conduct as his defence barrister, is suing over being jailed for 12 years.
It has been estimated he could claim up to $12 million in compensation.
Others intending to take legal action include Ange Venditti, who was once charged with the murder of Paul Kallipolitis before the charges were dropped.
The government has refused to comment on any of its plans despite repeated formal questions.
Although it has been mooted compensation claims will not be capped under any new laws, legal observers say they would be “staggered’’ if payouts were not curbed.
Gobbo, who was embedded in Mokbel’s gang, has cited her motivation to turn snitch was to be rid of the Mokbel cartel.
Mokbel was her biggest client, and a close confidante, who now claims Gobbo warned him to flee a 2006 Supreme Court drug trial.
His sudden departure sparked the biggest international manhunt in Australian history.
Gobbo then played a role in his capture before helping police extradite the wigged drug lord from Greece.
If Mokbel wins his appeal, it opens an avenue to not only sue the state, but Gobbo too.
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