The Australian Federal Police have arrested seven members of an alleged Chinese organized crime syndicate it says laundered almost AU$229 million (US$145 million) by way of its own prominent international money transfer business, Changjiang Currency Exchange.
According to details released on Thursday, the case is unique in that the operation did not operate out of the shadows like most money laundering cases but ran in plain site given that much of Changjiang Currency Exchange’s business was legitimate.
As a registered money remitter, the company was legally able to facilitate international money transfers from one customer to another, allowing individuals to access funds that have been converted to their currency of choice.
The Changjiang Currency Exchange, which has 12 shop fronts in every state in Australia, has transferred in excess of AU$10 billion (US$6.3 billion) in the past three financial years with most of these funds from customers engaged in lawful actions.
However, the AFP alleges the company facilitated a system for organized criminals to secretly transfer unlawfully-obtained money in and out of Australia in amounts totalling almost AU$229 million between 2020 and 2023.
Authorities said Thursday that Changjiang Currency Exchange is being secretly run by the Long River money laundering syndicate, with money laundered by the syndicate being from the proceeds of crime, including from “cyber-enabled scams”, the trafficking of illicit goods and violent crimes.
It is alleged the syndicate would coach its criminal customers how to create fake business paperwork such as false invoices and bank statements, which enabled criminal customers and the Changjiang Currency Exchange to show authorities that unlawfully-gained money was from lawful sources in the event the transfers came to the attention of authorities.
It is also alleged the Changjiang Currency Exchange profited from every transaction it made and charged higher fees for customers with unlawful funds than customers with lawful funds.
The AFP said the co-mingling of legal and illicit funds enabled the company to transfer up to AU$100 million (US$63 million) a day for customers in Australia and throughout the world, with the volume of transfers masking the alleged laundering of tainted funds. Further, it is alleged the Changjiang Currency Exchange sought to avoid undue regulatory attention by actively making efforts to appear legitimate in its reporting.
“The AFP will allege the Changjiang Currency Exchange was able to hide its illegal behaviour because it looked like a legitimate and lawful money remitter,’’ said AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dametto.
“The reason why this investigation was so unique and complex was that this alleged syndicate was operating in plain sight with shiny shopfronts across the country – it was not operating in the shadows like other money laundering organisations.”
Authorities have seized “houses and investment properties, luxury vehicles, and other high value luxury property items” suspected of being purchased with tainted money.
“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, travelling on private jets, driving vehicles purchased for AU$400,000 (US$253,000) and living in expensive homes, with one valued at more than AU$10 million (US$6.2 million),” Assistant Commissioner Dametto said.
The arrested syndicate members include four Chinese nationals and three Australian citizens.
