Published by Geoff Harrison | 3 November 2023
The offences related to money laundering are under ss193B and 193BA Crimes Act (NSW) 1900 and Part 10.2 of the Criminal Code Act (Cth) 1995. The maximum penalties depend largely upon the amount of money involved and range between 10 years imprisonment to life imprisonment. The offence can be committed by either knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime or recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
The essence or gravamen of the offence is the attempted concealing or hiding of the origins of the money, which is the proceeds of crime.
Money laundering is generally associated with criminal organisations or syndicates involved in fraud and/or drug supply.
Other Sources:
Cases:
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Extracted Legislation:
CRIMES ACT (NSW)1900 - SECT 193B
Money laundering--proceeds of crime
(1) A person who deals with proceeds of crime--
(a) knowing that it is proceeds of crime, and
(b) intending to conceal that it is proceeds of crime,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty--imprisonment for 20 years.
(2) A person who deals with proceeds of crime knowing that it is proceeds of crime is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty--imprisonment for 15 years.
(3) A person who deals with proceeds of crime being reckless as to whether it is proceeds of crime is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty--imprisonment for 10 years.
(4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under this section if the defendant satisfies the court that the defendant dealt with the proceeds of crime to assist the enforcement of a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.
CRIMES ACT (NSW)1900 - SECT 193BA
Money laundering--proceeds of general crime
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if the person deals with proceeds of general crime with a value of $100,000 or more--
(a) being reckless as to whether it is proceeds of general crime, and
(b) intending to conceal or disguise features of the property.
Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 15 years.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1)(b), the following may be relevant to whether a person intended to conceal or disguise features of money or other property--
(a) the nature of the money or other property,
(b) the value of the money or other property,
(c) the source of the money or other property,
(d) the location of the money or other property,
(e) any disposition of the money or other property,
(f) any movement of the money or other property,
(g) any rights in relation to the money or other property,
(h) the identity of a person who has rights in relation to the money or other property,
(i) the identity of a person who has effective control of the money or other property.
(3) A person is guilty of an offence if the person deals with proceeds of general crime with a value of $100,000 or more being reckless as to whether it is proceeds of general crime.
Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 10 years.
(4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under this section if the defendant satisfies the court that the defendant deals with the proceeds of crime to assist the enforcement of a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.
CRIMES ACT (NSW) 1900 - SECT 193C
Dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime
(1AA) A person is guilty of an offence if--
(a) the person deals with property, and
(b) there are reasonable grounds to suspect the property is proceeds of crime, and
(c) at the time of the dealing, the value of the property is $5 million or more.
Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 8 years.
(1AB) A person is guilty of an offence against this subsection if the person commits an offence under subsection (1AA) in circumstances of aggravation.
Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 10 years.
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if--
(a) the person deals with property, and
(b) there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the property is proceeds of crime, and
(c) at the time of the dealing, the value of the property is $100,000 or more but less than $5 million.
Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 5 years.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if--
(a) the person deals with property, and
(b) there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the property is proceeds of crime, and
(c) at the time of the dealing, the value of the property is less than $100,000.
Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 3 years.
(4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under this section if the defendant satisfies the court that the defendant had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the property was substantially derived or realised, directly or indirectly, from an act or omission constituting an offence against a law in force in the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory or another country.
(5) For subsection (1AB),
"circumstances of aggravation" mean circumstances in which--
(a) the person used a position of professional trust or fiduciary duty to commit the offence, or
(b) the offence was committed in the context of a criminal group, serious crime organisation or serious criminal activity, or
(c) the offence was committed to fund or support terrorism, or
(d) the person provided finance to enable part or all of the dealings in property, or
(e) the offence was committed for the purposes of transferring the value of the property out of New South Wales.
(6) In this section--
"criminal group" has the same meaning as in section 93S.
"criminal organisation" has the same meaning as in the Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2012 .
"serious criminal activity" has the same meaning as in the Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2012 .
CRIMES ACT (NSW) 1900 - SECT 193CA
Reasonable grounds to suspect property is proceeds of crime
(1) For section 193C, there are reasonable grounds to suspect that property is proceeds of crime in each of the following circumstances--
(a) for section 193C(1AA)(a) or (1)(a)--the dealing involves a number of transactions structured or arranged to avoid the reporting requirements of the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 of the Commonwealth that would otherwise apply to the transactions,
(b) the dealing involves a number of transactions structured or arranged to avoid the reporting requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 of the Commonwealth that would otherwise apply to the transactions,
(c) the dealing amounts to an offence against section 139, 140 or 141 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 of the Commonwealth,
(d) the dealing involves a significant cash transaction, within the meaning of the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 of the Commonwealth, and the defendant--
(i) has contravened the defendant's obligations under that Act relating to reporting the transaction, or
(ii) has given false or misleading information in purported compliance with those obligations,
(e) the dealing involves a threshold transaction, within the meaning of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 of the Commonwealth, and the defendant--
(i) has contravened the defendant's obligations under that Act relating to reporting the transaction, or
(ii) has given false or misleading information in purported compliance with those obligations,
(f) the dealing involves using one or more accounts held with authorised deposit-taking institutions in false names,
(g) the defendant had, in the defendant's physical possession, more than $100,000 in cash without lawful excuse,
(h) the value of the property involved in the dealing is, in the opinion of the trier of fact, grossly out of proportion to the defendant's income and expenditure over a reasonable period within which the dealing occurs,
(i) the dealing involved the use of a token or other unique identifier that preserves the anonymity of one or more of the parties to the dealing,
(j) the dealing involved the use or possession of--
(i) falsely subscribed telecommunication services, or
(ii) a dedicated encrypted communication device within the meaning of the Dedicated Encrypted Criminal Communication Device Prohibition Orders Act 2022 ,
(k) the defendant possessed or accessed instructions that, in the opinion of the trier of fact, are consistent with money laundering,
(l) the dealing involved a clandestine meeting or the use of a concealed compartment,
(m) the defendant--
(i) has stated that the dealing was engaged in on behalf of or at the request of another person, and
(ii) has not provided information enabling the other person to be identified and located.
(2) This section does not limit section 193C(1AA)(b), (1)(b) or (2)(b).
CRIMES ACT (NSW) 1900 - SECT 193A
Definitions
In this Part--
"cause" includes--
(a) direct, or
(b) facilitate.
"deal with" includes--
(a) receive, possess, conceal or dispose of, or
(b) bring or cause to be brought into New South Wales, including transfer or cause to be transferred by electronic communication, or
(b1) send or cause to be sent out of New South Wales, including transfer or cause to be transferred by electronic communication, or
(c) engage directly or indirectly in a transaction, including receiving or making a gift.
"instrument of crime" means property that is used in the commission of, or to facilitate the commission of, a serious offence.
"proceeds of crime" means any property that is substantially derived or realised, directly or indirectly, by any person from the commission of a serious offence.
"proceeds of general crime" means money or other property that is wholly or partly derived or realised, directly or indirectly, by a person from the commission of an offence against a law of--
(a) the State, or
(b) the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory, or
(c) another country.
"serious offence" means--
(a) an offence (including a common law offence) against the laws of New South Wales, being an offence that may be prosecuted on indictment, or
(a1) an offence against a law of the Commonwealth that may be prosecuted on indictment, or
(b) the offence of supplying any restricted substance prescribed for the purposes of section 16 of the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 that arises under section 18A (1) of that Act, or
(c) an offence committed outside New South Wales (including outside Australia) that would be an offence referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) if it had been committed in New South Wales.
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