Brothers Kase and Jawade Siddiqi, Shadi Skaf, charged with proceeds of crime offences over $10m fake luxury goods bust
Lawyers for three western Sydney mates who turned the importation and sale of counterfeit luxury goods into a $10m empire claim criminal charges against their clients are doomed to fail.
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Three western Sydney mates who turned the importation and sale of counterfeit luxury goods into a $10m empire claim criminal charges against them are doomed to fail, a court has heard.
Admad Kase Siddiqi, 30, Ahmad Jawade Siddiqi, 33, and Shadi Skaf, 30, were arrested during sweeping raids on Wednesday morning, with police seizing nine supercars worth about $3 million, more than 500 counterfeit designer items, $270,000 in cash and a gel blaster firearm.
The trio is not charged with deceiving customers about the authenticity of the luxury goods, but are instead facing allegations their activity in selling the fake items amounted to criminal conduct, and therefore the money they earned from the sales was the proceeds of crime.
Police allege they sold flashy watches, designer clothing, knock-off sneakers and fashion house handbags through accounts on Instagram and TikTok, amassing $9.7m in sales between 2017 and 2025.
It is alleged the men flaunted their extreme wealth by purchasing authentic luxury goods and supercars, including a $1m purple Lamborghini Aventador SVJ and a McLaren 765LT.
During respective bail applications for the men in Parramatta Local Court on Thursday, their legal teams argued the police had failed to identify in their case what “crime” the men had committed so as to make the money the proceeds of such activity.
They said the possible crime that arose from the police facts was a potential breach of federal trademark law, an offence which carries just 12 months in jail - much less than the 15-year maximum jail time for dealing with proceeds of crime charges.
“One sees repeated references to the term ‘false trademarks’ in the facts,” said barrister Steven Boland, who along with solicitor Chaddy Mardini, is representing Ahmad Jawade Siddiqi.
“There’s no particularised offence in that regard.”
He proposed a series of stringent bail conditions on behalf of his client, as did Philip Strickland SC, who is representing Admad Kase Siddiqi and Shadi Skaf, alongside solicitor Talal Krayem.
Both barristers said their clients did not pose a risk of fleeing the jurisdiction or a risk of committing further serious offences.
Magistrate Emma Manea reserved her decision until Friday, saying she needed time to consider the cases.
Police will allege the trio was part of a “sophisticated” criminal syndicate that imported high quality fake goods from China to sell on the Australian market.
Speaking to the media on Thursday morning, Detective Superintendent Peter Faux said police seized more than a hundred boxes of fake items from three premises at Fairfield East, Merrylands and Guildford.
“These three premises look like you’re inside a department store when you went inside them with all the goods that were set up; it was a very professional outfit,” he said.
“We’re alleging that most of the goods we believe have come from China.
“And in actual fact, while we’re executing a search warrant on one of the premises, a delivery van pulled up at that premises full of fake goods which had been imported into the country.”
In opposing bail for each of the men in court, the prosecutor said police would allege the money generated from the syndicate’s alleged activities was the primary source of income for the trio.
“The conduct alleged in the facts is serious when considering the amount of funds nominated,” he said.
“Clearly the parties have access to large amounts of money which heightens the risk of flight.”
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Originally published as Brothers Kase and Jawade Siddiqi, Shadi Skaf, charged with proceeds of crime offences over $10m fake luxury goods bust
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