MELBOURNE, Australia. Law enforcement agencies in Melbourne, Australia have charged seven individuals with conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars for a prominent Chinese crime syndicate. This development follows a painstaking 14-month investigation that involved collaboration between various Australian agencies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Notably, it is being hailed as the most intricate money laundering case in the nation’s history.
The investigation uncovered that the Changjiang Currency Exchange, a network of a dozen remittance outlets in Australia, was covertly operated by the Long River money laundering syndicate. Suspicion initially arose during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Sydney, as authorities observed the exchange expanding its operations, even when most of the city seemed deserted. “While most of Sydney was a ghost town, alarm bells went off among our money laundering investigators when they noticed Changjiang Currency Exchange opened and updated new and existing shopfronts in the heart of Sydney,” remarked Stephen Dametto, an assistant commissioner with the Australian Federal Police. “It was just a gut feeling – it didn’t feel right. Many international students and tourists had returned home, and there was no apparent business case for Changjiang Currency Exchange to expand.”
In a coordinated effort, more than 300 officers conducted 20 raids across the country, resulting in the confiscation of tens of millions of dollars’ worth of luxury homes and vehicles. The accused consist of four Chinese nationals and three Australian citizens who made their initial court appearance in Melbourne.
“We allege they lived the high life by eating at Australia’s most extravagant restaurants, drinking wine and sake valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, traveling on private jets, driving vehicles purchased for A$400,000, and living in expensive homes, with one valued at more than A$10 million,” disclosed Dametto.
The syndicate is believed to have provided guidance to its criminal clients on fabricating counterfeit business documents, such as false invoices and bank statements. Their illicit activities encompassed a wide range, including cyber scams, illicit goods trafficking, and violent crimes. Remarkably, the syndicate had even procured fake passports, each valued at A$200,000 ($126,000), as an escape plan for their members.
Dametto emphasized the unique complexity of the case, noting that the syndicate operated openly with conspicuous shopfronts across the country, in stark contrast to the clandestine operations typically associated with money laundering organizations.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
