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Investigation & Fraud News – Week ending 3 February 2023
19 stories this week:
Elon Musk defends Twitter use in Tesla investors’ class action lawsuit over ‘funding secured’ tweet – 21 January 2023
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has testified that investors do not always react to his Twitter messages as he expects, defending himself in a fraud trial over his 2018 tweet, that indicated he had secured funding to take the company private, something which did not end up taking place. Shareholders alleged that Mr Musk lied when he sent the tweet, costing investors millions. A jury of six men and three women will decide whether the tweet artificially inflated Tesla’s share price by playing up the status of funding for the deal, and if so, by how much.
Convicted Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is a flight risk, US prosecutors say – 21 January 2023
Prosecutors say Elizabeth Holmes is a flight risk and shouldn’t be allowed to stay out of prison while she appeals her 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors. She had purchased one-way plane ticket to Mexico three weeks after being convicted for fraud.
Government’s warning over ‘insidious’ scam targeting social media users – 23 January 2023
Australians are being urged to be on guard against an emerging social media scam that involves fraudsters impersonating staff from the Australian Tax Office. The phoney accounts send replies or direct messages offering to resolve the taxpayer’s issue. The scammer then tries to get the member of the public to click on a link in an attempt to access their money or private information.
Corporate Australia’s dirty hidden secret – 23 January 2023
Business crime may be endemic across big companies, and law enforcement is doing little to stop it.
https://www.afr.com/wealth/investing/corporate-australia-s-dirty-hidden-secret-20230119-p5cdxv
Access to digital version of AFR required to read fully article
Financial Planner Bradley Grimm Pleads Guilty to Fraud – 25 January 2023
Mr Bradley Grimm, a former Melbourne financial planner, pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in dishonest conduct whilst running a financial services business. At the time of the offending, each breach of s1041G(1) of the Corporations Act carried a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
https://www.miragenews.com/financial-planner-bradley-grimm-pleads-guilty-934812/
Australia Warden Allegedly Steals from Inmates to Gamble, Could Land in Prison – 25 January 2023
Brenton Williams, a former general manager of a correctional facility in Adelaide, allegedly stole more than $100,000 from prisoners and then gambled it. The money is part of the funds inmates have to turn in when they report to the facility.
https://www.casino.org/news/jailor-in-australia-steals-from-inmates-to-gamble-could-land-in-jail/
Surge in online ‘sextortion scams over school holiday period – 29 January 2023
The ÁFP have warned there has been a surge in online financial ‘sextortion’ targeting young Australians over the school holiday period. Statistics from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation show overseas offenders were primarily targeting teenage boys, who make up 90 per cent of victim reports.
Bankman-Fried denies witness tampering claim – 29 January 2023
What to know about Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s embattled founder
Bankman-Fried, 30, has been free on $US250 million ($A352 million) bond since pleading not guilty to charges of fraud in the looting of billions of dollars from the now-bankrupt FTX. His lawyer insisted his client did not seek to influence a witness in the US government’s fraud case against him, accusing prosecutors of trying to portray him “in the worst possible light”.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/us-prosecutors-sandbagged-bankman-fried-c-9587056
https://www.afr.com/markets/currencies/bankman-fried-denies-witness-tampering-claim-20230129-p5cg7p
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/sam-bankman-fried-ftxs-embattled-founder/story?id=93499631
Whistleblowing reform needs to be comprehensive – 30 January 2023
The Human Rights Law Centre, Griffith University’s Centre for Governance & Public Policy and Transparency International Australia have called for a comprehensive reform process to ensure stronger protections for Australian whistleblowers. The organisations welcomed the Government’s first, largely-technical phase of reform to the Public Interest Disclosure Act, which protects federal public servant whistleblowers, however the group expressed concern about the risks of a piecemeal approach to improving whistleblower protections.
https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2023/1/30/whistleblowing-pid-act
Bunbury bookkeeper Kathleen Griffiths pleads guilty to stealing from local businesses – 30 January 2023
Kathleen Margaret Griffiths, a Bunbury bookkeeper pleads guilty to 16 charges of stealing $750,000 from two businesses over a decade. She used several tactics to conceal her offending. The affected business owners were placed under financial stress as a result.
Adam thought he was starting a new job, until he lost $28,000. What are recruitment scams and how are they targeting job seekers? – 30 January 2023
Scammers are pretending to be hiring on behalf of high-profile companies and online shopping platforms and impersonate well-known recruitment agencies. The scammer contacts you by email, letter or phone and offers you a job that requires very little effort for high returns, or a guaranteed way to make money quickly.
Hackers abuse legitimate remote monitoring and management tools in attacks – 30 January 2023
Security researchers warn that an increasing number of attackers are using legitimate remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools (ie.threat actors) in their attacks to achieve remote access and control over systems. These tools are commonly used by managed service providers (MSPs) and IT help desks so their presence on an organisation’s network and systems might not raise suspicion.
State government ready to make any changes recommended by review into Adelaide Casino – 31 January 2023
Former Supreme Court judge Brian Martin KC has been investigating the Adelaide SkyCity’s casino operator since July and will report to Liquor and Gambling Commissioner. It followed an 18-month investigation, with AUSTRAC alleging systemic failures in how SkyCity handled anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
William Knoll’s scammers made it sound like they were on his side – 31 January 2023
According to the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, there were more than 200,000 scams reported last year, costing Australians more than $568 million. 17 years old William Knoll, lost $5,000 when he was told scammers were accessing his money, but they were in fact the scammers! Mr Knoll said the person on the other end of the line sounded knowledgeable – and legitimate.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-25/money-scams-bank-transfer-youths-targeted/101882730
Whistleblowers need their own agency, says Jeff Morris – 1 February 2023
When working for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Jeff Morris blew the whistle on “unbelievable practices” going on in the financial planning division. He says that protections for those who expose corruption are deficient, saying ‘it will ruin your life and we absolutely need fundamental whistleblower reforms’.
https://www.themandarin.com.au/210788-whistleblowers-need-their-own-agency-says-jeff-morris/
After a decade of decline, Australia is back on the rise in a global anti-corruption ranking – 1 February 2023
Australia ranked 13th out of 180 countries in the Transparency International’s annual Global Corruption Perceptions Index. This is up from a low of 18th last year. The index ranks countries on their perceived levels of public sector corruption – the higher the score, the less perceived corruption. Ranking 13th out of 180 is pretty good, but we have done better and the public expects better.
https://www.themandarin.com.au/210805-corruption-index-improvement-for-australias-public-service/
Adani pulls off $3.6b share sale despite fraud allegations – 1 February 2023
Indian energy giant Adani has survived its first major test following serious bullying, fraud & criminal allegations raised last month by US short-seller Hindenburg Research. Australian industry players, view the Hindenburg report as a “sophisticated activist hit job” that would not affect the Australian operations.
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/adani-australia-hits-back-at-fraud-claims-20230127-p5cfx3
Ubank hacking: Man has $20k drained from bank account after details leaked by Optus, Medibank – 2 February 2023
A Brisbane man has had all his savings and his entire salary for January cleaned out of his account – leaving him with no money to pay off his car loan or credit card. He was caught up in both the Optus and Medibank identity theft hacking scandals – which saw millions of customers affected.
AFP money-laundering bust highlights Australia’s gaping real estate vulnerability – 3 February 2023
This week federal police arrested nine people and seized millions of dollars’ worth of Sydney homes, cryptocurrency and luxury items, crushing a syndicate it is alleging offered money laundering at an “industrial scale”. The AFP allege the syndicate acted as an unregulated multi-national bank, drawing on cash reserves in multiple countries around the world and facilitating transactions for criminal clients.
NT whistleblower provisions under review – 19 January 2023
The Northern Territory’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption is to conduct a review of the region’s public sector whistleblower provisions amid concerns people are not reporting wrongdoing for fear of retaliation.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/nt-whistleblower-provisions-under-review-231513591.html
Investigation & Fraud News – Week ending 20 January 2023
27 stories this week:
Trading website IBC Exchange exposed as scam after QLD man loses $80k – 23 December 2022
An Australian explains how a group of online scammers coaxed him into giving away $80,000 via a fake cryptocurrency platform called IBC Exchange. He stated that “The sophistication was beyond belief and that the technology and layers of fraud they used was just incredible”.
Meta settles Cambridge Analytica class-action lawsuit for $725 million – 23 December 2022
Parent company Meta, has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit accusing Facebook of allowing Cambridge Analytica and other third parties to access users’ private information. The settlement resolves user claims that Facebook violated federal and state laws, by allowing the company’s preferred vendors and partners to harvest their personal data without consent. It’s reportedly the largest ever in a US data privacy class action and the most Meta has ever paid to resolve a class-action lawsuit.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried released on house arrest and ‘largest ever pre-trial bond – 23 December 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried has been released on a 375 million bond package while he awaits trial on fraud charges related to the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange. Prosecutors have accused him of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-23/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-founder-granted-bail/101803992
Inside Melbourne woman’s role in multimillion-dollar fraud syndicate – 25 December 2022
Young Melbourne mother Jasmine Vella-Arpaci has been sentenced for playing a central role in an international fraud syndicate which stole millions from victims’ superannuation accounts. She claimed she did this to support her husband’s gambling addiction. The process was to use stolen ID documents from the dark web, editing them as necessary to match one another, before using them to open bank accounts and to support applications to withdraw money from super accounts.
David McBride is ready to go to jail for his beliefs – 26 December 2022
Former defence lawyer David McBride is ready to go to jail with his “head held high” for exposing alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, but has called for the establishment of an independent federal authority to help others avoid the same fate. He stated that the reform was “absolutely needed” to support others wanting to lawfully report wrongdoing within their organisation.
How an Australian crypto exchange became a tool for scammers – 28 December 2022
Collapsed cryptocurrency exchange and brokerage Mine Digital, appears to have been a target for criminals exploiting the platform and lax regulation to rip off Australians through sophisticated investment scams.
Wage theft laws, offences and penalties in Australia – 29 December 2022
A Victorian business and its owner will be the first to face criminal wage theft charges, in any Australian jurisdiction. It is alleged that from July to November 2021, the Rehmat and Mehar Pty Ltd trading as ‘The Macedon Lounge’, dishonestly withheld wages, penalty rates and super from its former employees.
https://www.mondaq.com/australia/crime/1266114/wage-theft-laws-offences-and-penalties-in-australia
Inside the call centre scam that lured vulnerable workers to Cambodia and trapped them in the murky world of human trafficking – 29 December 2022
Thousands of vulnerable workers in South-East Asia who lost their jobs during the pandemic have been lured into job scams. They say they were made to work in a call centre, using dating apps on mobile phones to meet people looking for love. Once they had established online conversations, they were told to pass the people’s details on to a “chief” who would continue the chat and trick people into sending money for bogus investments.
Pair sentenced to collective 56 years prison for $8.75 billion Singapore share trading scam – 29 December 2022
A Malaysian businessman convicted of masterminding a stock scam that wiped 8.75 billion off Singapore’s exchange has been sentenced to 36 years in jail by a court in the city-state. John Soh Chee Wen and his girlfriend used their knowledge of financial markets to inflate share prices and set up dozens of trading accounts and borrowed large sums to manipulate stock prices.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-29/singapore-share-trade-scammers-sentenced-to-prison/101813712
Global Investigation Review – Australia – 4 January 2023
Informative article covering Australian highest-profile corporate investigations; legal framework; law enforcement authorities; Cyber-related issues; Cross-border issues and foreign authorities; Economic sanctions enforcement and more
The fight to reclaim $1.8 million lost to an international investment scam – 7 January 2023
Article explains the “industrialised nature of scams”. Australians lose more money to investment scams than any other type of scam. Nearly $300 million was lost in the first nine months of 2022 – though with many Australians never reporting their losses, it’s likely the true cost is much higher.
Former Simon & Schuster employee pleads guilty to impersonating editors to steal unpublished books – 7 January 2023
A former employee of book publisher Simon & Schuster, has pleaded guilty to impersonating editors and agents, in order to steal more than 1,000 unpublished book manuscripts, belonging to authors like Margaret Atwood and the actor Ethan Hawke.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-07/man-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-unpublished-books/101834612
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennifer Shah sentenced to prison for defrauding thousands of people – 7 January 2023
US reality TV star Jennifer Shah, known for her role on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, has been sentenced to six-and-a-half-years in prison for defrauding thousands of people in a telemarketing scam over nearly a decade.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-07/real-housewives-jenifer-shah-prison-for-fraud/101834602
Trump executive Allen Weisselberg gets five-month jail sentence – 11 January 2023
Allen Weisselberg – a long-time executive for Donald Trump ‘s business empire – has been taken into custody to begin serving a five-month jail term for dodging taxes on $1.7 million in job perks. His testimony helped convict the former president’s company of tax fraud.
Perth teen loses nearly $40,000 in sophisticated bank scam – 12 January 2023
Aurora Casilli, lost $36,000 in an instant after receiving messages from a spoofed NAB number. The text looks legitimate and comes through on the same message thread as real NAB texts. It then prompts customers to call a number, and an allegedly fake operator then directs them to transfer money to a new “safe” account.
Australian Taxation Office scam sees Vageesh Potnis steal thousands of dollars from Australians – 13 January 2023
Vageesh Potnis, a Sydney man has avoided jail time, despite scamming vulnerable Aussies out of nearly $30k by pretending to be from the ATO.
Australian authorities say crypto is too often used for money laundering. – 14 January 2023
Senior executives of AUSTRAC claim crypto has become part of the “money laundering tool kit,” to commit money laundering and financial fraud. Article also discusses that ATMs are often the first method of converting crypto into cash so that illicit purchases and deals can be made.
Donald Trump’s company sentenced to pay $2.31 million penalty for tax fraud – 14 January 2023
A New York judge has sentenced Donald Trump’s namesake real estate company to pay a 2.31 million criminal penalty after it was convicted of scheming to defraud tax authorities for 15 years. Jurors found two Trump Organization affiliates guilty of 17 criminal charges. Prosecutors provided evidence that Mr Trump’s company covered personal expenses such as rent and car leases for executives without reporting them as income, and pretended that Christmas bonuses were non-employee compensation.
https://thewest.com.au/business/trump-org-to-be-sentenced-for-tax-fraud-c-9440476
ATO disqualifies hundreds over self-managed super scams – 15 January 2023
An ATO crackdown on people setting up self-managed superannuation funds to illegally access their retirement savings has prevented the withdrawal of hundreds of millions of dollars. Many have had to pay additional tax penalties and interest on those amounts illegally withdrawn.
Victims of bank Ponzi-like scheme in China unable to withdraw money from frozen accounts – 15 January 2023
Since April last year, at least 40 billion yuan ($8.5 billion) has been frozen in four of the small-sized banks. The four rural banks had promised customers high returns of between 13 and 18 per cent, in what has now been described as a Ponzi-like scheme. In August, authorities arrested 234 suspected bank scammers in connection to the case. Victims have been protesting as they have been unable to withdraw money for nine months.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-15/demand-deposit-frozen-in-banks-china/101843356
Morley great-grandmother Dale Hambrook of her life savings – 15 January 2023
A Morley great-grandmother has been scammed out of nearly $150,000 after she was conned through an elaborate cryptocurrency scheme. The scheme used images and fake emails by the celebrity David ‘Kochie’ to con people.
Former Greek associate of Bill Papas denies involvement in fraud – 15 January 2023
One-time Greek business partner of Bill Papas Anastasios Giamouridis has denied any role in the alleged $500m fraud against banking institutions. According to the allegations he also received funds from the scheme.
JPMorgan says fintech was a fraud, closes business – 16 January 2023
JPMorgan has shuttered the financial planning fintech it acquired in 2021 and is suing its founder, claiming most of its users were fake accounts created to inflate the business’ value. In court documents, the bank claims the company paid a data scientist to use “synthetic data” techniques to create a list of 4.265 million “students” that did not exist.
Fraudsters jailed over international crypto scam – 18 January 2023
Four people have been jailed in the UK over a $37 million fraud carried out on an Australian cryptocurrency exchange (CoinSpot) five years ago. Stephen William Boys, Kelly Caton, Jordan Kane Robinson and James Austin-Beddoes were sentenced to a combined 15 years in prison over their involvement in a scam that “exploited a loophole” on the platform.
https://www.moneymag.com.au/fraudsters-jailed-over-international-crypto-scam
Fraud trial begins over Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla tweet, which allegedly artificially affected stock price – 18 January 2023
A trial has begun over whether Elon Musk committed fraud with a 2018 tweet saying he was poised to take Tesla private. The tweets indicated Mr Musk had lined up the financing to take Tesla private at a time when the company’s stock was slumping amid production problems. The prospect of a 104 billion buyout fuelled a rally in the company’s stock price that abruptly ended a week later, after it became apparent that he did not have the funding to pull off the deal after all.
No bail for man accused of worldwide scam – 18 January 2023
One of four men charged over an alleged international investment scam has been refused bail over fears he could try to flee the country. It is alleged the four men were involved in a sophisticated scam using various social engineering techniques, including the use of dating sites, employment sites and messaging platforms, to gain victims’ trust.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/no-bail-for-man-accused-of-worldwide-scam-c-9486058
NT whistleblower provisions under review – 19 January 2023
The Northern Territory’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption is to conduct a review of the region’s public sector whistleblower provisions amid concerns people are not reporting wrongdoing for fear of retaliation.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/nt-whistleblower-provisions-under-review-231513591.html
Investigation & Fraud News – Week ending 22 December 2022
14 stories this week:
SkyCity Adelaide casino accepted bags of ‘soiled’ cash, court documents allege – 7 December 2022
Court documents reveal that cash that was dirty and appeared to have been buried, and money kept in plastic bags, was used in large transactions at the SkyCity Adelaide (SCA) casino. The allegations are part of civil proceedings against SkyCity Adeaide by Australia’s financial crimes watchdog.
AUSTRAC to launch Federal Court civil proceedings against SkyCity Adelaide casino over alleged anti-money-laundering breaches – 7 December 2022
AUSTRAC will issue civil proceedings against SkyCity Adelaide. AUSTRAC alleges serious and systemic non-compliance with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Elizabeth Holmes’s former partner, Ramesh Balwani, given near-13-year prison sentence over Theranos hoax – 8 December 2022
Former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani has been sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for his role in the company’s blood-testing hoax. Holmes and Balwani ran Theranos, a company that claimed to have developed a disease-detecting medical scam. The faked technology endangered patients and duped investors.
Embezzlement trial against Markus Braun begins – 8 December 2022
Markus Braun, the former head of disgraced German payment company Wirecard, is charged over the biggest fraud case in German history. Mr Braun has denied embezzling money from Wirecard, and has accused others of running a shadow operation without his knowledge. Wirecard was forced to admit in June 2020 that 1.9 billion euros ($2.9b) were missing from its balance sheet.
Star Entertainment Group fined $100 million over Queensland casino breaches, given 12 months to ‘get their house in order’ – 9 December 2022
Star Entertainment Group has been hit with $100 million in fines and a special manager has been appointed to oversee its Queensland operations following “major failings” at its casinos. The company has also been given 12 months to “get its house in order” or else have its Queensland casino licences temporarily suspended.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-09/qld-star-casino-show-cause-100m-fine-licence/101753326
ATO reveals it raided 35 properties suspected of using technology to evade paying tax – 10 December 2022
The (ATO) has revealed it has raided 35 properties nationally as part of a global crackdown on businesses suspected of using or supplying electronic sales suppression tools (ESST). ESST helps businesses permanently delete business transactions, reduce sales values or misrepresent transactions in other ways.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-10/tax-raids-taskforce-ato-tech-sales-evasion/101756454
Conman Richard Ayoub jailed over multimillion-dollar scam targeting retirees – 16 December 2022
Richard Ayoub,, an American man living in Australia on a working visa has been jailed for scamming retirees out of about $3 million. Ayoub profited from a scam conning retirees into investing in fake bonds.
Fake myGov profiles are being used to hack ATO accounts. Sue found this out the hard way – 19 December 2022
ABC Investigations has uncovered a vulnerability in the myGov and ATO systems which is being exploited by cybercriminals to defraud the taxpayer. Services Australian told ABC Investigations all that is required to create a myGov account is an email address. No proof of identity is necessary and there is no limit on how many accounts can be opened.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-18/ato-tax-hacked-via-mygov-services-australia-exploit/101781656
Australian winery uses new tech to combat wine fraud – 19 December 2022
Grosset Wines, Adelaide, have swapped out their usual bottle caps for ones that use Enseal. The caps have a microchip inserted underneath their top, which consumers can scan with their smartphones to check if the label matches the bottle’s contents. Wine fraud can occur when empty bottles are refilled with other wines and resealed, label details are changed or bottles are labeled with wrong information about variety, region, or vintage.
https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1030945
The buried gold, the crumbling fraud case and the billionaires’ tsunami – 20 December 2022
Article describes the Million-dollar fraud case in Orange, were Brian Locke was ousted from the board of the company he founded, had $9 million worth of his shares cancelled and was under police investigation for masterminding a multimillion-dollar fraud. All 133 charges against former Gold and Copper Resources CEO Brian Locke were finally withdrawn.
Foreign national extradited to Qld over alleged scam – 20 December 2022
A young foreign national will be extradited to Queensland over allegations he defrauded $30,000 from an elderly man on the Sunshine Coast. The man was contacted via phone, advising him his accounts had been then the men drove from Sydney to his Sunshine Coast home and pretended to be from his bank and convinced him to hand over bank cards and account details before emptying out his accounts.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/foreign-national-extradited-to-qld-over-alleged-scam-c-9222281
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried signs extradition papers, hearing scheduled for Wednesday – 21 December 2022
Sam Bankman Fried insists the collapse of his $32 million Crypto empire is the result of human error. Federal prosecutor said Mr Bankman-Fried’s actions amounted to “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”. He is being extradited from the Bahamas to the United States where he faces fraud charges.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-21/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-signs-extradition-papers/101796332
ASIC increases focus on cryptocurrency – 21 December 2022
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has increased the number of staff dedicated to cryptocurrency, as high-profile collapses like FTX highlight the danger of the unregulated asset class. Cryptocurrency was currently exempt from regulation, leaving it open to use as a vehicle for money laundering, data breaches and financial crime.
https://www.moneymanagement.com.au/news/policy-regulation/asic-increases-focus-cryptocurrency
Police warning: Aussie parents ordered to pay child’s drug debt – 21 December 2022
The New South Wales Police have warned Aussie parents about a NEW text scam impersonating their children and claiming they need to repay a drug debt. While many Aussies said they managed to avoid falling for the scam, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said more than 1,150 Australians fell victim to the so-called ‘Hi Mum’ scam in the first seven months of this year, with total reported losses of $2.6 million.
Investigation & Fraud News – Week ending 2 December 2022
14 stories this week:
Did the royal commission fix banking or are banks back to behaving badly? – 26 November 2022
It has been five years since then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a royal commission into scandals and misconduct in the banking industry. Of the 76 recommendations, many have been implemented but there is still a lot of work still to be done.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-26/did-banking-get-fixed-after-the-royal-commission/101691230
‘You can’t be responsible for everyone’s decisions’: Westpac boss pushes back on scam reimbursement – 29 November 2022
Westpac chief executive Peter King has pushed back against calls for banks to reimburse a larger number of scam victims, saying that while lenders were working to fight scammers, customers also had to take some responsibility. The bank normally only reimburses victims when they have not followed the industry’s code of conduct.
EY caught up in alleged Australian coal quality scam – 29 November 2022
According to MP Andrew Wilkie, he has received thousands of documents from a whistleblower said to be an executive within the coal industry, which shows that miners TerraCom, Anglo American, Glencore and Peabody together with the Macquarie Bank and auditor EY as intermediaries engaged in activities to inflate the quality of Australian coal exports – thereby increasing its price and minimising pollution-related import restrictions.
https://www.consultancy.com.au/news/6205/ey-caught-up-in-alleged-australian-coal-quality-scam
How Can Australia Better Protect Whistleblowers? New Report Explains – 29 November 2022
A new report from Griffith University, the Human Rights Law Centre, and Transparency International Australia highlights 12 “areas of reform” in which Australia’s parliament could bolster whistleblower protections and get up to speed with “international best practice.” The report notes that Australia has in the works a National Anti-Corruption Commission, but states that “this highlights big gaps in federal whistleblower protection. The report also displays statistics about current whistleblowers in Australia and contains information about the detriment that whistleblowers experienced, like being fired from their job, facing harassment from co-workers or managers, etc.
Police investigating Melissa Caddick’s disappearance were ‘short-staffed’, inquest hears – 29 November 2022
The detective who took over the investigation into alleged fraudster Melissa Caddick’s disappearance has told an inquest he didn’t re-interview her husband, as he felt he “wasn’t a credible witness”, and accepted there were “major discrepancies” in his version of events. The inquest heard Ms Caddick had life insurance, that included suicide cover, but Detective Sergeant Foscholo’s understanding was Mr Koletti may not have been listed as a beneficiary. Hearings have run over time again, so another date has been set for February.
Security agencies take advice after Chinese camera ban in US, UK – 30 November 2022
Australia’s national security agencies have begun restricting the use of surveillance equipment manufactured by two Chinese firms in government facilities amid a similar block in the US and UK over data security concerns. The Department of Home Affairs, ASIO, and ASD are now scrutinising the use of surveillance cameras from Hikvision and Dahua, with some confirming the Chinese made technology now poses an unacceptable risk and is avoided wherever possible.
https://www.innovationaus.com/security-agencies-take-advice-after-chinese-camera-ban-in-us-uk/
Star Entertainment sued by AUSTRAC for alleged money-laundering breaches – 30 November 2022
Star casinos are facing massive fines, with the anti-money-laundering regulator AUSTRAC launching a Federal Court action seeking civil penalties. AUSTRAC alleges Star failed to implement legally required monitoring of money-laundering risk. Each individual breach can attract maximum penalties of between $18 million and $22 million.
ICAC passed on Daryl Maguire evidence to ‘relevant agencies’ before conspiracy charge – 30 November 2022
Australian Border Force confirmed it had charged Daryl Maguire with conspiring to commit an offence, alleging it was linked to “visa and migration fraud”. Maggie Logan, has also been charged with 12 counts of causing the delivery of a document with a false statement under the migration act. It is alleged the duo furnished visa applications “containing statements or information that was false or misleading” on the Commonwealth, allowing non-citizens to remain in Australia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-30/icac-daryl-maguire-conspiracy-visa-charge/101712632
Vic woman ‘sorry’ for part in $10m fraud – 30 November 2022
Jasmine Vella-Arpaci, a Melbourne woman wrote to her victims, telling them she’s sorry for her major role in a cyber crime syndicate that targeted $10 million in Australian superannuation and share accounts. The group succeeded in defrauding $3 million from superannuation accounts and $238,000 from share trading. There were further attempts to obtain $1.8 million from super funds and $5.7 million in shares.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/vic-woman-sorry-part-10m-054945097.html
‘Orchestrated attack on the banking system’: Property fraudster jailed – 30 November 2022
Sheree Becker has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for taking out fraudulent loans against the ANZ Bank on behalf of low-income customers, who could not afford them. Becker had signed up people on low incomes, including one on Centrelink benefits, to her vendor finance scheme.
Microsoft scam drains elderly couple’s $249,000 savings as Bendigo Bank fails to block transactions – 1 December 2022
An elderly couple who lost a quarter of a million dollars in a sophisticated online scam have slammed Bendigo Bank for failing to block the suspicious transactions. Two of their banks, NAB and HSBC, immediately blocked the attempted withdrawals when they noticed the unusual payments.
Former bank employee Sara Daizli facing 237 fraud charges – 2 December 2022
Police allege a former bank employee used her role at the bank to open accounts in fictitious names and swindle hundreds of thousands of dollars. Police claim Ms Daizli siphoned money into her bank account under a false name and allegedly made fraudulent loan applications to ANZ and St George banks.
Hackers declare ‘case closed’ as they leak more Australian health data – 1 December 2022
Hackers appear to have ended their extortion bid as they dump more customer data from insurer Medibank, which had refused to pay $9.7 million in exchange for hackers keeping the stolen records off the internet.
Aussie bitcoin mogul sentenced in the US, advisers slam DOJ – 1 December 2022
Australian bitcoin mogul Greg Dwyer, has been sentenced to one year probation after being found guilty of violating US banking laws while he was a senior executive at troubled cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, as his advisers slammed authorities for their heavy-handed approach to his charges.
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