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A Melbourne-based Chinese national has been charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for laundering $100 million worth of cyber crime proceeds.
After executing a search warrant of the man’s Sydney and Melbourne homes on 25 October, the AFP charged the 37-year-old culprit with:
The man is set to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on 26 October and faces maximum penalties of 15- and two-year imprisonment for each crime, respectively.
The man was snagged by the AFP as part of a joint operation with the US Secret Service (USSS) called Operation Wickham.
The operation was first launched when the USSS advised the AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3) that millions generated through scams were being transferred to an Australian business bank account from the US.
Of the $160 million found to be stolen, $100 million was laundered through the Changjiang Currency Exchange or via business accounts belonging to fake Aussie businesses, which were controlled by the Long River money laundering organisation, the group believed to be behind Changjiang Currency Exchange.
AFP Commander Investigations Kate Ferry said that victims were lured into scams through an accused criminal syndicate that promised massive investment returns through a platform called MetaTrader.
“The majority of the money deposited into Australian bank accounts or remitted by Changjiang Currency Exchange was linked to the exploitation of an investment application called MetaTrader, and other platforms dealing in foreign exchange and cryptocurrencies,” she said.
The scammers would contact the victims, who were predominately in the US, via text or another application such as WhatsApp, and after some discussion, eventually convince them to invest their money into a trading platform, pushing MetaTrader specifically.
After convincing the victim that the platform was legitimate with manipulated data to show high returns, the scammers then stole the victim’s money and, in some cases, would push victims for more.
“A key feature of the scam was the alleged syndicate’s ability to produce dedicated software, compatible with the legitimate trading platform, to misrepresent the true market value of currency rates,” added Ferry.
“The AFP alleges victims were led to believe the vast majority of trades were successful in yielding significant financial returns, when in reality, the data was manipulated to show positive returns.
“The criminal syndicate did not stop there; they continued to encourage more deposits from victims.”
Ferry added that those who received unsolicited offers of high returns should respond cautiously.
“We encourage all members of the public to exercise a high degree of caution when approached by unknown entities on the internet or other online communication platforms in relation to investment opportunities, or any other type of money-making venture. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is,” she said.
Also, on 25 October, the AFP made several other arrests of members of the same Long River money laundering syndicate behind the Changjiang Currency Exchange.
Yesterday’s operations saw the AFP execute 20 search warrants across every mainland state in Australia, with over 240 AFP personnel and an additional 92 specialist members restraining over $50 million in property and vehicles, all as part of Operation Avarus-Nightwolf.
Seven individuals were arrested, including a 37-year-old man from Balwyn and a 37-year-old man from Balwyn North, which are both in Melbourne.
Cyber Daily is yet to identify if either of the two above is the same man who was arrested as part of Operation Wickham.
Responding to a request for clarification, the AFP specified that these were different arrests, with the Operation Wickham arrest occurring at the culprits Sydney home.
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