Russian couple accused of money laundering scheme to face Qld Supreme Court
Alexandra Bugrova, 47, and Dmitry Rimskiy, 50, who moved to Australia in 2015, have been charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime worth $1,000,000.
An Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation was launched after a tip-off from Austrac that the Gold Coast pair had deposited more than $4 million into ATMs across 576 transactions, which were structured to avoid the financial crime watchdog's $10,000 reporting threshold.
Police allege the cash was laundered at banks and ATMs in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia between July 2022 and September 2023.
The funds were allegedly used to purchase or rapidly repay mortgages for waterfront mansions in Hope Island, Broadbeach Waters and Runaway Bay, houses in Labrador, Alexandra Hills and Mount Gravatt, and a high-rise unit at Milton.
The AFP seized $15.6 million in assets, including seven properties in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, $514,000 worth of cryptocurrency and more than $1.95 million in cash found in a suitcase during a raid on the couple's Hope Island home in December 2023.
While defence barrister Angus Edwards KC acknowledged the transactions were deliberately designed to evade detection, he said the charges should be thrown out because there was no evidence the money was the proceeds of crime.
Mr Edwards told a committal hearing at the Southport Magistrates Court the couple were wealthy business owners who were trying to move their money out of Russia and were afraid of political persecution from the Putin administration.
"We certainly accept that we have engaged in conduct designed to hide the money being deposited," Mr Edwards said.
"Russia is not a democracy. [The government] is engaged in a war in Ukraine and it is well-known they are prone to seizing assets.
"They were afraid of sticking their heads up above the parapet and having their assets and their businesses stripped from them in Russia."
Crown prosecutor Dylan Kerr conceded the Commonwealth's case was circumstantial but told the court the "irresistible inference" was the money was the proceeds of crime.
"It is not uncommon in a money laundering case that authorities do not know where the money came from," he said.
"If it is the case that all this money came from Russia, why was it deposited in Australian dollars and not in rubles?"
Magistrate Kerry Magee said the cash deposited "exceeded their reported earnings by a significant amount".
"In essence, the defendants are asking me to find that … the defendants' conduct was for the purposes of avoiding seizure of their assets by Russian authorities," Ms Magee said.
"I have no means of assessing the reasonableness or otherwise of that hypothesis.
"I am of the opinion that the evidence is sufficient to put you on trial."
The couple do not speak English and a Russian translator had to be used for the arraignment.
They did not enter a plea and were released on bail.
The maximum penalty for the charges is 25 years in jail.
The pair will face Brisbane Supreme Court at a date yet to be set.
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ABC News
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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
How easy is it to trick the Australian Taxation Office?
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