Former ATO employee convicted for tampering with records and making false claims – 17 September 2025
Kasey Harries, a former Australian Taxation Office employee has been convicted and sentenced for misusing sensitive taxpayer information to make fraudulent claims. She had previously pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including obtaining financial advantage by deception and aiding and abetting another person to attempt to commit an offence.
Victoria’s anti-corruption commission searches Chinese language school over alleged misuse of public funding – 19 September 2025
Victoria’s anti-corruption commission has searched Xin Jin Shan Chinese Language and Culture School offices over alleged misuse of public funding, from the Victorian education department. The community language school is one of the biggest in Victoria. The investigation relates to suspected offences of obtaining property by deception, false accounting, and falsification of documents, which each carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
Report scathing of police and CCC over failure to respond to complaints of police misconduct – 19 September 2025
The Parliamentary Inspector of the CCC has found WA Police’s Internal Affairs Unit is “reluctant to find misconduct by police officers.” The report details an allegation of an off-duty officer choking a man following a road rage incident and not being charged. WA Police said it would consider the report in full before commenting further.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-19/police-ccc-complaints-misconduct-report-/105791424
ATO moves to bankrupt Adgemis ahead of creditor’s vote – 20 September 2025
The Australian Taxation Office is ramping up its pursuit of Jon Adgemis, asking a court to allow it to take the place of Monaco-based rag trader Richard Gazal in his bankruptcy action against the beleaguered publican. The ATO applied to the Federal Court on Thursday. Gazal is one of a number of creditors who have been pursuing Adgemis for more than a year.
Digital version of AFR required to read full article
UN says there’s evidence organised crime scam centres are moving from South-East Asia into new frontier of the Pacific – 20 September 2025
Scam centres run by Asian organised crime outfits appear to have set up on Australia’s doorstep, exploiting areas with relaxed regulations to expand their lucrative illegal operations and money laundering fronts. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has issued an alert about the emergence of triad-linked scam centres in Timor-Leste after a raid at a hotel in its Special Administrative Region of Oecusse-Ambeno in late August. The scam operations industrialised in South-East Asia during the past five years have been estimated to cost victims about $60 billion each year.
Australia’s surveillance framework: National security and counter-terrorism watchdog signals reform – 22 September 2025
Significant changes are anticipated for Australia’s electronic surveillance regime following a comprehensive review by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM). The review assessed the powers of the Australian Federal Police and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to combat cybercrimes.
Victorian man jailed for complex fraud to help business owners knowingly avoid bankruptcy – 22 September 2025
A Melbourne lawyer has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year, for perverting the course of justice and running an offshore scam to help his clients avoid bankruptcy. The man, 68, used his law firm to create fictitious personal debts for two clients so they could gain a favourable outcome from bankruptcy and insolvency processes. The two clients were also involved in the scheme, while the man received a financial benefit for his business through the process. To ensure his clients avoided bankruptcy and repaid cents-on-the-dollar to creditors, the man then initiated insolvency proceedings based on false and backdated documentation.
Fraud charges – Operation Xray Sailing – 23 September 2025
Detectives from the Crime and Intelligence Command, Financial Crime Unit, have charged five people with 112 fraud related offences as part of Operation Xray Sailing.
The operation was the culmination of a six-month investigation by the Financial Crime Unit into the activities of the criminal syndicate, who allegedly assumed the identity of bank customers who maintained significant cash balances. The total amount stolen by the syndicate was $723,898, with a further $466,535 of attempted fraudulent withdrawals being detected and blocked by various bank branches.
https://mypolice.qld.gov.au/news/2025/09/23/fraud-charges-operation-xray-sailing/
Optus and ANZ show the governance failures of the director class – 24 September 2025
Australia’s listed company corporate governance system is fundamentally broken. The $240 million penalty imposed on ANZ Bank – ASIC’s largest ever fine – represents more than regulatory punishment; it is an indictment of a governance model that elevates symbolism over substance and independence over competence. Similarly, at least three deaths this week and the failure of the Triple Zero emergency response due to a failed Optus upgrade have striking parallels with ANZ’s board failure. It is too soon to know the magnitude and nature of the penalty. This is the second time that Optus has failed in this way.
Premier probe into Smiggle alleges culture of serious misconduct – 25 September 2025
Premier Investments’ probe into its stationery giant, Smiggle, has allegedly uncovered a culture of serious misconduct, ranging from absenteeism, intoxication during work hours, bullying, sexual harassment and potential bribery, according to its billionaire founder Solomon Lew. Lew was discussing the findings of an investigation, more than a year after John Cheston was sacked as chief executive of Smiggle, following his 12 years with the company.
GIM Trading used virtual office space to create veneer of legitimacy as it allegedly defrauded millions – 26 September 2025
GIM Trading claimed its head office was on Level 10, 440 Collins Street, Melbourne. The virtual office setup appears to have been used to build trust with investors, to give the impression of a real, substantial financial services firm located in prestigious business districts. According to fraud experts, these tactics are common in scams. The false appearance of presence (address, receptionist, phone, etc.) can mislead people doing “due diligence.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-26/gim-trading-bond-fraud-allegations-investigation/105782912
