Australian Group Suspected of Laundering $123 Million Through Cryptocurrency
Date: 2025-06-10 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
A large-scale money laundering scheme has been uncovered in Australia, in which members of a criminal group converted cash obtained from illegal activities into cryptocurrency. To disguise the transactions, the criminals registered a security company, which acted as a cover for transferring funds through the banking system.
As investigators found out, the criminals used fake accounts and documents to legitimize the origin of the cash. The main sources of these funds included cybercrime and drug trafficking. The received amounts were collected and transferred through accounts controlled by a fictitious security structure, and then converted into cryptocurrency. After conversion, the digital assets were redistributed between shell companies and end recipients, hiding traces of their true origin.
Australian police conducted a large-scale operation, during which they simultaneously searched 14 properties located in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. As a result of the searches, 17 properties and vehicles belonging to the defendants were found and seized. In addition, law enforcement officers managed to freeze more than $13 million in the bank accounts of the suspects.
This case has become one of the largest investigations into money laundering using cryptocurrency in Australia in recent years. Earlier, in response to the increase in suspicious transactions, the Australian Transaction Reporting and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) introduced a restriction for crypto ATMs: now cash transactions through them cannot exceed 5,000 Australian dollars (about $3,250).
The investigation is ongoing, and the authorities emphasize the need for stricter regulation of the cryptocurrency industry in order to prevent such schemes. Formal charges against the group's members are expected to be brought in the near future, as well as further actions to confiscate property acquired with illegal proceeds.
