Two Russians arrested over Gold Coast money laundering scam – $2.3 million crypto, cash seized
Two Russian nationals have been charged with money laundering after more than $2.3 million in cash and cryptocurrency was seized on the Gold Coast.
A supplied image shows about $1.95 million in cash located during a search warrant at a home in Hope Island on the Gold Coast, Monday, March 04, 2024. Two Russian nationals will face court after being charged over $2.3 million in cash and cryptocurrency laundering on the Gold Coast. (AAP Image/Supplied by Australian Federal Police) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Australian Federal Police said a man, 49, and a woman, 46, laundered money via hundreds of cash deposits at bank branches and ATMs across NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia in 2022.
The deposits were allegedly kept below $10,000 in a bid to avoid detection by authorities.
A search of a Hope Island property and solicitor’s office on the Gold Coast found $1.95 million in cash and $425,000 in cryptocurrency in December 2023, AFP said.
Substantial financial records were also located.
The man and woman have each been charged with three counts of dealing in the proceeds of crime with money or property worth more than $1 million.
They will appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.
AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said money laundering syndicates are sophisticated and operate a shadow economy of crime to increase their own wealth.
“They are buying homes, commercial property and living large without the financial pressures felt by ordinary Australians,” Det Supt Telfer said in a statement.
“The money that is laundered through our economy bankrolls their lavish lifestyles and funds future crime, such as more illicit drug importations and weapons trafficking.”
