A Sydney accountant has been charged with using his professional position to facilitate criminal activity for a prominent organised crime network.
The accountant, 43, is allegedly responsible for facilitating money laundering and fraud on behalf of members of the crime group through his tax practice.
Following extensive inquiries, detectives executed a search warrant at a taxation office in Sydney’s CBD at about 9.50am on May 13.
Officers located a number of both physical and electronic financial records relating to members of the organised crime network during the search.
A short time later, police arrested a 43-year-old man on Edwin Street in Croydon, a suburb in Sydney’s inner-west.
The man was taken to Burwood Police Station and charged with two counts of publish etc false misleading material to obtain advantage.
He was also charged with two counts of make false document to obtain financial advantage etc.
The 43-year-old was granted conditional bail and appeared in Burwood Local Court on June 17.
One of his clients – an alleged member of the high-profile organised crime network – was also charged with alleged mortgage fraud.
Three days after the accountant’s arrest, police issued a 30-year-old man with a Future Court Attendance Notice and charged him with dishonestly obtain property by deception.
Police will allege the man orchestrated a false mortgage application for a home worth more than $1 million to disguise himself as the beneficiary of the property.
The man is set to face Parramatta Local Court on July 30.
The arrests were a result of the State Crime Command’s Criminal Groups Squad Strike Force Eeley.
Officers established the strike force in December 2021 to investigate the accountant after he allegedly laundered money and facilitated fraud on behalf of members of the organised crime network.
Anyone with information that may assist investigations into organised criminal activity are being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.