A Gold Coast-based security company is at the centre of one of Australia’s most elaborate money laundering investigations, accused of moving millions in criminal cash around the country using armoured vehicles and converting $190 million into cryptocurrency.
Four people – including the company’s director, general manager and two Brisbane men – have been charged following an 18-month multi-agency investigation led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
Authorities say the company used its legitimate cash transport operations as a front to disguise criminal proceeds. It allegedly blended dirty money with legal funds before funnelling it through a maze of bank accounts, front businesses, and cryptocurrency exchanges.
“This investigation has unravelled a sophisticated operation that allegedly moved illicit cash around the country,” AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer told reporters.
“These profits were being flown into Queensland to be washed and returned to individuals.”
The accused include a 48-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman from Maudsland, who were the director and general manager of the security business. Both were charged with dealing with proceeds of crime worth more than $10 million and face maximum penalties of 15 years to life in prison. The pair were granted bail and are due to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on 21 July.
A 32-year-old man from Heathwood, allegedly one of the scheme’s primary beneficiaries, is accused of laundering $9.5 million via a promotions company under his control, for which his wife was allegedly installed as a “straw director.” He was also charged with failing to provide the password to a mobile phone and has been remanded in custody ahead of a Brisbane Magistrates Court appearance.
A 58-year-old man from West End, who allegedly ran a classic car dealership that received $6.4 million in suspicious funds, faces charges including money laundering, using forged documents and dealing in stolen identity information. He is due in court on 1 August.
The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) has frozen 17 properties, luxury cars, and bank accounts in Queensland and NSW valued at more than $21 million.
Authorities executed 14 search warrants last week across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, seizing encrypted devices, $30,000 in cash, business documents, and crypto wallets containing about $170,000 in digital assets.
According to investigators, the syndicate moved illicit cash from organised crime networks via “dead drop” points in multiple cities, where it was collected and flown as domestic cargo to Queensland. Couriers linked to the security firm then collected the cash for laundering.
The operation involved agencies including the Queensland Police, AUSTRAC, Australian Border Force, the ATO and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.
AFP Detective Superintendent Telfer warned the operation posed a threat to Australia’s financial system and national security.
“Criminals always choose greed over decency,” he said.
“We allege this organisation intentionally concealed and disguised the source and nature of their illicit money in an elaborate and calculated plot.”
Investigations are continuing, and authorities have not ruled out further arrests.
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