Property prices in Australia are ridiculously high. Why is that? A seemingly never ending shortage of supply has created the perfect conditions for inflationary pressures in this market. If inflation was measured in the Australian property market over the last 30 years it would be at around 362%. A lot of Australians have grown relatively wealthy on the back of increasing property values in the residential market. These conditions have attracted overseas investment. Plus, money laundering laws when it comes to identifying owners and funding sources are very lax in Australia. Many of the accountants, lawyers, and real estate agents involved in this sector don’t want to see that change because it will end their gravy train. The Australian property market and money laundering.
Professionals Facilitating Organised Crime In Australia
The Labor government has promised to bring in new stricter laws to stop the money laundering in the property sector. Just recently the Australian Federal Police cracked open a Lebanese criminal organisation operating in Australia. This gang was involved in drug importation and owned high end property in capital cities around the country. This is an example of money laundering via the Australian property market.
“Organised Crime Squad commander Peter Faux said police investigations indicated the syndicate was involved in large-scale drug trafficking and supply, firearms distribution and violent crimes. He said the gang was responsible for the “industrial-scale movement” of money around the world via cryptocurrencies. Four other people presently overseas are also wanted by police and Detective Superintendent Faux said warrants would be issued for their arrests if they did not return to Australia. About 450 police took part in the 12-month investigation, with more arrests expected.”
Every time a criminal organisation is busted in Australia they invariably own residential property. This is because it is both a great investment and the perfect place to hide large ill-gotten gains from view. The lack of monitoring in this investment sector is appalling. It makes it a hotbed for terrorists, paedophile rings, drug dealers, bikie gangs, and overseas criminal networks operating in Australia.
The greed of the facilitators: the accountants, lawyers, and real estate professionals, is pretty sickening really. This is the kind of Australia we live in today.
Accountants & Robodebt
As a nation we have to take a good hard look at the accountants, lawyers, and agents making white collar crime so ubiquitous in Australia. It is time to take the blinkers off and stop assuming that this class of professionals deserve our respect. The PwC tax rort was just the tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to the nefarious activities of accountants and lawyers. The previous coalition government stripped the Australian public service and diverted billions of dollars to private consultants. This drastically reduced government transparency and created a mob boss like relationship between ministers and their insider mates in the private sector. Robodebt was born out of this dirty business practice, which was an illegal and immoral betrayal of the Australian people by government. 500, 000 ordinary Australians were made to feel that they had done something wrong and owed the government large amounts of money. It criminalised people on welfare.
It cost tax payers $1.8 billion in a settled class action. It cost the lives of vulnerable Australians. PwC were paid a million dollars to review the Robodebt scheme during its 5 year operation.
Professional White Collar Crime Enablers
Behind every organised criminal is an accountant. Defrauding institutions takes professional knowledge. Money laundering involves a swathe of professionals – accountants, lawyers, and real estate agents. All of these enablers take their cut through fees and charges. If we want to clean up Australia of the white collar crime epidemic we currently endure it will take much greater scrutiny of these professional role players.
These middle men and women making white collar crime possible for their clients.
“Special emphasis has been placed on white-collar professionals such as accountants, lawyers and bankers due to their ability in using their skills, structures and networks to help facilitate serious financial crime. According to the SFCT, behaviours of such professional enablers include an accountant who runs two sets of books or provides illegal advice to clients to help them evade tax, as well as a lawyer who sets up companies and tax structures to defeat tax obligations.”
“Adam Cranston, who was found to be one of the ‘masterminds’ behind Australia’s biggest tax fraud, has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Adam Cranston is the son of former deputy commissioner of the ATO, Michael Cranston. He appeared for the sentencing hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court via video link from Silverwater prison.
In 2019, Michael Cranston was found not guilty of dishonestly obtaining information in his capacity as a senior public servant to benefit his son, as well as a charge of using his influence to improperly obtain a benefit for his son. “
In the above case of Adam Cranston and his cohort of white collar criminals their fraudulently stolen millions were used to buy high end properties for themselves and to improve them. These scumbags would meet at a business man’s strip club to discuss the workings of their illegal scheme, where they were recorded by police. The lack of money laundering laws in the residential property sector in Australia is a disgrace and has been for many years.
It is time to end the sleaze and the gravy train for dirty accountants and lawyers.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of Money Matters: Navigating Credit, Debt, and Financial Freedom.
©HouseTherapy
