An Australian multi-agency investigation has dismantled a complex money laundering operation in Queensland, resulting in charges against four individuals and the restraint of approximately $13.7 million (AUD 21 million) in criminal assets. At the center of the alleged scheme was a security company that reportedly converted nearly $124 million in cash into cryptocurrency as part of a sophisticated attempt to obscure illicit funds.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP)-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) froze properties, bank accounts, and vehicles across Queensland and New South Wales, all suspected to be proceeds of crime.

According to a joint statement, more than 70 officers from the Queensland Joint Organized Crime Taskforce (QJOCTF) executed 14 search warrants across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. AUSTRAC and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) provided analytical expertise and monitored cash “dead drops” nationwide.

Investigators allege the sophisticated money laundering operation was run through the armored transport unit of a Gold Coast-based security company, which converted approximately $124 million in an attempt to obfuscate the funds’ origins from law enforcement. The investigation into the source of these funds remains ongoing.

The QJOCTF alleges the security company employed a complex network of bank accounts, businesses, couriers, and cryptocurrency wallets to launder millions. It allegedly mixed cash from its legitimate business operations with illicit funds, funneling money through a sales promotion company and a classic car dealership before paying out beneficiaries in cryptocurrency or through third-party entities.

Additionally, the company is alleged to have served as a front for moving millions of dollars in illicit cash from other states to Southeast Queensland for laundering. This cash, reportedly generated by organized criminal enterprises, was left at dead drop locations nationwide. Couriers collected the cash and sent it as domestic cargo on flights to Queensland, where the security company’s couriers then retrieved it.

AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer underscored the sophisticated nature of the criminal enterprise, stating:

We allege this organization intentionally concealed and disguised the source, value, and nature of their illicit money, distancing themselves from the funds to try to avoid getting caught by authorities.

Telfer praised the multi-agency collaboration, noting that “money laundering investigations are incredibly challenging due to the complex web of deception.”

Queensland Police Service Detective Acting Superintendent David Briese highlighted the societal harm caused by such schemes.

“Criminal networks use money laundering to legitimize their profits and exploit legitimate businesses, harming communities and economies. It fuels serious organized crime, enabling everything from drug trafficking and exploitation to fraud and violence,” Briese stated.

According to the statement, the four individuals tied to the money laundering scheme face lengthy prison sentences if found to have violated sections of the Criminal Code and the Crimes Act.

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