As the spotlight shifts to alleged Chinese money laundering and drug manufacturing, police believe hostile foreign powers are fueling a tidal wave of organized crime activity in Australia.
According to Australian Federal Police (AFP), a multibillion-dollar Chinese money laundering syndicate has suspected ties to senior Chinese Communist Party members.
In a speech to international crime-fighting rivals on Tuesday, AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw emphasized the possibility of foreign governments supporting illegal activity.
‘State actors and citizens from other countries are abusing our countries’ sovereignty and economies,’ he said.
‘Unfortunately, federal crime is on the rise in Australia. The long shadow of organized crime and state violence is contributing to this rise.’
The Chen Organisation, a financial transfer corporation based in NSW and Victoria that transports millions out of an average property in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, is suspected of facilitating Chinese money laundering, according to police.
Ming Chai, the cousin of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has been linked to Chen Organization fund transfers, and has long been of interest to Australian investigators.
Mr Chai, an Australian citizen, was on board a Gold Coast private plane full of high-stakes gamblers that was searched by authorities in 2016 for evidence of money laundering, but he was not charged.
Victorian brothel owner Simon Pan is another individual accused of transferring more than $200 million through the Chen Organization, according to authorities.
Mr Pan has already been probed for providing gambling trips to Chinese organized crime groups.
Crown Casino has been accused of collaborating with dodgy Chinese gamblers and supporting them in money laundering activities.
Crown’s Melbourne casino was fined $80 million in May for aiding and abetting unlawful operations.
While authorities believe that criminal proceeds travel out of Australia to China, precursors, or chemical components of illegal narcotics, flow in.
Mr Kershaw revealed the scope of the problem in his speech to the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group, which facilitates cooperation between peak law enforcement authorities from the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand.
He claimed that countries with deregulated chemical and financial markets make it easier for transnational crime syndicates to carry out their “crime model.”
‘They keep global financial flows flowing by abusing both illegal and legal industries in our country,’ he claimed.
‘We cannot overlook the fact that some countries produce precursors on a massive scale.
‘We also can’t overlook the fact that, in my opinion, some countries are turning a blind eye to the proceeds of crime flowing through their economies.’
US authorities have accused China’s chemical industry of fueling the fentanyl overdose pandemic, which is the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45.
Drug gangs carry Chinese-made precursors to Mexico, where they are processed into final products for smuggling into the United States, according to US authorities.
On Tuesday, the byzantine network of organized crime in Australia was partially exposed when police announced that they had identified more than 5,000 Italian mafia figures operating in the country, making them a far larger underground presence than previously imagined.
According to police, the mafia’s clans, especially those linked to the legendary Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, collaborate with a variety of organized crime organizations, including outlaw motorcycle gangs, Middle Eastern gangs, Asian triads, and South American cartels.
Assistant Commissioner Nigel Ryan of the Australian Federal Police issued a warning to all of them.
‘If you are a part of a cartel based in Mexico, a triad based in Asia, or a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang based in Australia, and your criminal conduct has an impact on Australians, you will be targeted by the AFP,’ Mr Ryan said.