A 40-years-old man from Auckland has been arrested because of an alleged money laundering scheme he orchestrated. He has been served with multiple charges, amongst which dubious cryptocurrency transactions and purchases of luxury goods.
According to a recent news report, the arrested man faces a pile of 30 charges for his actions, most of which connected with money laundering. After appearing in the Auckland District Court, Community Magistrate Dianne Hale granted him interim anonymity.
As per the report, the suspect had received thousands of New Zealand dollars to buy cryptocurrency in money laundering transactions.
Aside from that, some of the charges allege that he had purchased luxury vehicles to launder funds. More specifically, the man spent $421,000 on a Lamborghini and about $288,888 on a Black Mercedes G63. The accused has also bought an East Auckland property worth $1.7 million in respect of money laundering.
The bouquet of charges also includes him receiving an unknown amount of cash for money laundering from an individual at Auckland Airport earlier this year, plus obtaining over a million dollars from a bank, allegedly using a fake identity.
The New Zealand police raid is a part of bigger investigation, during which law enforcement seized millions in assets, high-end luxury vehicles and property. The so-called Operation Brookings has been reported as a long-running investigation by the Financial Crime Group into money-laundering activity in the country.
During the recent action, New Zealand police seized a total of seven luxury cars, a boat and three motorbikes, about $250,000 in cash, plus properties in Half Moon Bay, Te Atatū and New Lynn – all of them with an estimated worth of at least $3.3 million.
Four men and two women, from 29 to 65 years old, have been arrested and charged on the money laundering case.
In the face of increasing crypto crimes, police in New Zealand is facing even more severe cases.
“Organised crime groups come in all shapes and sizes in New Zealand. This group today was a professional money laundering service. Their job was to launder funds.” – Said Detective Superintendent Iain Chapman.