Australian tax evasion scheme exposed

(The Associated Press) SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Police have broken up an international money laundering scheme operating in Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu that involved $93 million and hundreds of people, Australian police said Monday.
A 58-year-old Australian man who had been living in Vanuatu was arrested and charged with three fraud and money laundering offenses related to the scheme, which was exposed by a police task force targeting tax evasion, police said.
More than 400 people put money into the scheme allegedly operated by the suspect, Robert Agius, which is suspected of moving more than $93 million from Australia through offshore bank accounts since 2000 to avoid taxes, police Commander Warren Gray said.
People involved could expect to be contacted by the Australian Federal Police, Gray said, though it was not clear if any had broken the law.
Agius was arrested Monday in the western Australian city of Perth, and appeared briefly in court where he was ordered to be returned to Sydney to face trial.
Agius did not enter a plea but told Magistrate Elizabeth Langdon the charges were "trumped up" and "nebulous." He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison on one of the charges.
Gray, a senior white-collar crime officer with the Australian Federal Police, said the scheme involved transferring money out of Australia and then claiming a business expense before returning the funds to Australia as an interest-free loan.
"When you look at it, it is quite a simple scheme," Gray told reporters. "The lengths that the people involved went to hide the money ... and tax that they have evaded is quite complex and thus why it has taken two years to investigate."
Agius is accused of collecting $1.3 million in commissions from the scheme. Gray said the total amount of unpaid Australian taxes exceeded $12 million.
Police in New Zealand and Vanuatu also carried out raids, Gray said.
The scheme was exposed by Project Wickenby, a task force of police and officials from tax and business regulatory authorities established in 2006 to investigate tax evasion and large-scale money laundering.