Money laundering charges laid

A 75-YEAR-OLD Springvale man and a 55-year-old Noble Park woman were among four people charged last week over laundering about $15 million.
The charges followed a three-year operation the Australian Federal Police (AFP) led with Victoria Police and the Australian Transaction Reporting and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).
The pair and a 48-year-old Keilor Downs man and a 30-year-old Fawkner man appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 16 November charged with dealing in proceeds of crime.
The offence attracts up to 12 years’ imprisonment and/or fines of more than $70,000.
AFP said the operation started with a referral from the Australian Crime Commission in 2009.
The AFP commenced investigating a registered Victorian money transfer business, which was making potentially illegal international cash transfers.
It will allege in court that the business ran two sets of financial accounts – one legal and one “off the books” – and that these illegal transfers helped organised crime syndicates across Australia launder the proceeds of crime during 2009 and 2010.