Key Points
- Two men were arrested trying to board flights to Hong Kong.
- The 27 and 24-year-old are alleged to be the leaders of the Australian arm of a $150 million financial scam.
- They were arrested after a tip-off from the United States Secret Service.
The organised crime syndicate employed a sophisticated mix of social engineering techniques, including the use of dating sites, employment sites and messaging platforms to gain the victim’s trust before mentioning investment opportunities, police alleged.
The AFP searched a house in Sydney in connection with the alleged crimes. Source: Supplied / The Australian Federal Police
Victims were then directed to both fraudulent and legitimate investment applications that deal in foreign exchange and cryptocurrency, which had been maliciously manipulated to show a false positive return on investments.
Two other men, both aged 19, have also been charged over their alleged roles. They are due to face a Sydney court in January on one count each of recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime.
Two other Australian-based operatives were arrested in Sydney. Source: Supplied / Australian Federal Police
The quartet were allegedly used to register Australian companies with the business regulator to enhance the legitimate appearance of fraud efforts, and also establish Australian business bank accounts to launder the proceeds of crime.
Investigations into the true scope of the fraud on potential Australian victims are ongoing.