Two Russians face court today in Southport Magistrates Court after the Australian Federal Police (AFP) seized $2.3 million in cash and cryptocurrency, part of an ongoing Gold Coast money laundering probe.
Money Laundering Case Background and Build-Up
Last December 2023, the AFP issued court summons to a couple after during a search warrant at a Hope Island residence on the Gold Coast, authorities found about $1.95 million in cash, approximately $425,000 in cryptocurrency, and extensive financial records.
Police allege that the Russian nationals laundered money by visiting banks and ATMs across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia.
In 2022, they supposedly made hundreds of cash deposits, each under $10,000 to evade detection.
The Gold Coast Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (GC JOCTF) executed search warrants at the Hope Island home on December 4, 2023, and a solicitor’s office in Surfers Paradise on December 21, 2023.
The couple are now facing charges in court.
The Gold Coast JOCTF
The GC JOCTF includes members from the AFP, Queensland Police Service (QPS), Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Australian Border Force (ABF), Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer emphasised that money laundering significantly threatens Australia’s national security, economy, and social security system.
News source: Australian Federal Police website
