On 22 November 2023, Alan Phillips of our office represented his client charged with knowingly money laundering in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The allegations involved the client being involved in a syndicate directing, recruiting and actively engaging in deceiving members of the public in a money laundering scheme, headed by members of the syndicate in the United Kingdom. The offending involved pretending to be reputable institutions and obtaining thousands of dollars on a false basis from those people.
The defendant was found during a search warrant with multiple high quality false passports, and her phone was accessed. The case against the client was not without its strengths.
She was charged and bail was refused in the Magistrates Court. Our office acted promptly and she was before the Supreme Court for a bail application only 10 days after her arrest. The Crown opposed her bail application noting her lack of citizenship in Australia, and the numerous high quality passports that enabled her to flee the jurisdiction.
Alan Phillips highlighted our client's ties to the jurisdiction, the length of time she would remain in custody if not granted bail, as well as strict conditions that were proposed to allow the risks associated with bail to be reduced to an acceptable level.
She was granted bail by the Chief Justice of Queensland on strict conditions despite her possession of high quality false passports and identities.
Money laundering knowingly is a very serious offence which carries a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.
Comments