Alleged money laundering syndicate ringleader Zhuo Chen granted bail week after arrest by AFP
Posted Thu 2 Nov 2023 at 2:46pm, updated Thu 2 Nov 2023 at 4:22pm
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In short: Zhuo Chen, the alleged ringleader of a money laundering syndicate, has been granted bail by a Melbourne magistrate.
Mr Chen was one of seven people arrested in AFP raids last week.
Prosecutors allege he signed a contract with an organised crime group, enabling him to receive a 10 per cent cut of money gained by an online scam, known as “pig butchering”.
What’s next? The defence said Mr Chen would plead not guilty, and flagged a lengthy court process ahead.
The alleged ringleader of a money laundering syndicate owns a $10 million house outright and poses a risk of fleeing the country on a private jet, prosecutors say.
Federal Police allege 37-year-old Zhuo Chen, one of the co-founders of the Changjiang Currency Exchange, pocketed millions of illegally acquired funds and used other family members’ bank accounts to hide transactions.
Last week, seven people were arrested after officers swooped on Changjiang’s premises around the country. Police alleged the business helped criminals launder almost $230 million over the past three years.
On Thursday, prosecutors told the Melbourne Magistrates Court the currency exchange transferred more than $10 billion over the three-year period, of which about 2 per cent was illegitimate.
Prosecutors revealed some of the inner workings of the alleged crime syndicate, as they fought Mr Chen’s bid to be released on bail, arguing he could interfere with witnesses and posed a flight risk.
However Magistrate Malcolm Thomas decided to grant bail, after Mr Chen’s parents offered to put their $1.3 million house up as a surety and he agreed to conditions which effectively restricted him to home detention and monitoring of his phone and internet activity.
Defence flags lengthy ‘monster trial’
AFP Detective Senior Constable Thomas Martin said Mr Chen and his wife Jie Lu received 30 per cent of Changjiang’s profits, and that $6 million had been transferred from the company to accounts controlled by their family.
Prosecutors said Mr Chen and Ms Lu lived in a $10 million home in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn, which they owned outright.
Senior Constable Martin said Mr Chen had a $100,000 line of credit with a private jet company, although the officer conceded the company had since agreed to cease dealings with Mr Chen and other co-accused.
During evidence, the officer said Changjiang was involved in “three interrelated conspiracies”. He said there were thousands of hours of covert recordings which captured alleged illegal activity by Mr Chen, including conversations with other crime figures.
Defence barrister Dermot Dann said his client would be pleading not guilty, and flagged a lengthy court battle ahead.
“You’re looking at a monster trial, and we say a monster delay,” he said.
Jie Lu, wife Zuo Chen, was also granted bail.
Accused allegedly received cut of ‘pig-butchering’ scam
Senior Constable Martin said Mr Chen signed a contract with an organised crime group, enabling him to receive a 10 per cent cut of money gained by an online scam, known as “pig butchering”.
Pig butchering, also known as romance scams, involves criminals befriending victims and stealing money invested in online trading platforms, including cryptocurrency.
The AFP officer said Mr Chen was captured on a phone recording saying: “We f***ing accepted about $100 million, right?”
Mr Chen is alleged to have been recorded talking about destroying evidence and in another call he is alleged to have told an associate: “We can meet up again to get our story straight”.
Investigators also hold concerns that Mr Chen could have access to millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts. They also alleged he had used stolen money to purchase blocks of land.
Three other alleged syndicate members, including Mr Chen’s wife Jie Lu, were earlier granted bail on Thursday having spent a week in custody since the police raids.
They included Jing Zhu, 35, and Jin Wang, 33, who prosecutors described as the general manager of Changjiang.
They were supported in court by about 15 others, some of whom tried to shield the women from being filmed by camera crews outside the building. Supporters of Mr Chen burst into applause after the magistrate announced his decision to grant bail.
Jin Wang (left), described in court as the general manager of Changjiang, was also granted bail on Thursday.
Posted 2 Nov 20232 Nov 2023, updated 2 Nov 2023
Alleged ringleader of Changjiang Currency Exchange given bail over money laundering syndicate
One of the accused ringleaders of an allegedly elaborate money laundering syndicate has been given bail, despite concerns he has access to significant amounts of cash and “criminal groups”.
November 2, 2023 – 5:30PM
One of the accused ringleaders behind an allegedly elaborate money laundering syndicate has been given bail to live with his wife and newborn child.
Zhuo Chen, 37, appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, a week after his arrest during sweeping raids across the country.
Australian Federal Police allege Mr Chen was a “founding member” of the Changjiang Currency Exchange that allegedly was used to clean money for criminal clients.
Over the past three years, police allege, the “CJ Exchange” handled $10.1bn in transactions mixing money of both legitimate and illegitimate clients.
It’s alleged almost $229m in dirty cash was moved in and out of the country, with the syndicate claiming a 10 per cent fee.
Detective Senior Constable Thomas Martin told the court Mr Chen was allegedly one of the “principal benefactors” receiving a 30 per cent cut of the profits.
He said Mr Chen had allegedly reported a $49,000 income in the last financial year, but allegedly received more than $6m into accounts he controlled.
Detective Martin told the court the AFP would allege they have multiple taped phone calls where Mr Chen discussed the “true profits of the CJ Exchange”.
The company, he claimed, had declared $500,000 in profits to the financial regulator but allegedly actually made $40m last financial year and was “on track” to exceed $50m this year.
“We f—— accepted about $100,000 right. It’s all pig butchering money,” Detective Martin alleged Mr Chen said in a taped phone call.
“The AFT alleges pig butchering is a reference to romance scams”.
Opposing bail, prosecutor John Saunders said police held concern Mr Chen could have access to significant amounts of money and networks overseas.
He also argued Mr Chen was at risk of interfering with witnesses or taking efforts to destroy evidence and obstruct justice.
Mr Chen’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, told the court his client intends to plead not guilty and denies the allegations.
Mr Chen was granted bail by Magistrate Malcolm Thomas who found that while there were substantial risks, these could be moderated by “onerous” bail conditions.
“Your client’s a highly intelligent man, who the prosecution say is well connected with criminal groups,” Mr Thomas said.
“In this case satisfied there is a risk … under these conditions the level of risk would substantially reduce.”
He will be required to wear an ankle monitor, limit access to telephones and the internet and his parents have put up their $1m Templestowe home as a surety.
Mr Chen said he “absolutely” understood if he breached those conditions, he was facing up to three years in custody before his trial could be run.
“I understand that, Your Honour,” he said.
Three other co-accused; Mr Chen’s wife Jie Lu, 38, Jing Zhu, 35, and Jin Wang, 33, were granted bail after prosecutor John Saunders conceded they had a “prima facie entitlement”.
Police allege Ms Wang was a “knowing key facilitator” of the alleged syndicate who worked as the general manager of the Changjiang Currency Exchange.
Ms Lu and Ms Zhu allegedly opened and facilitated bank accounts for the syndicate and benefited from their close relationships with other accused members.
The quartet were among seven charged last Wednesday amid synchronised raids across Australia, with their co-accused expected to apply for bail in the coming weeks.
The AFP labelled this the “most complex” alleged money laundering case in the country’s history.
长江换汇案最新进展！“我们TMD收到了$1亿对吧？”主犯获保释，帮杀猪盘洗钱
20小时前
3名同伙也获得保释
长江换汇的案件又有新进展了。
警方调查发现，他们涉嫌帮从事“杀猪盘”骗局的犯罪团伙洗钱。
但在本周四的保释听证会中，先前被捕的7人中有4人成功获得保释。
其中一人是37岁的主犯Zhuo Chen，出生于中国，现在是澳洲公民。
他在墨尔本Balwyn有一套价值$1000万的豪宅，还在位于Essendon Airport的一家私人飞机公司有$100,000的信用额度。
法庭获悉，虽然长江换汇98%的货币兑换交易都是合法的，但有2%是为犯罪组织洗钱，金额达$2.28亿。
他们通过将资金汇入以亲属和合伙人的名义设立的银行账户来逃避监管。
而Zhuo Chen是长江换汇的一名头目，他与一个通过“杀猪盘”进行诈骗的犯罪团伙签了合同，帮对方洗白$2亿的黑钱，其中10%（$2000万）作为酬劳。
这$2000万的酬劳中，30%归Zhuo Chen。
澳洲联邦警方拦截了长江换汇的成员之间（包括Zhuo Chen）多达几千个小时的通话。
在其中一个电话中，Zhuo Chen与一名同事谈到了关于他们通过帮一个中国的“杀猪盘”犯罪团伙洗钱而从中获利的事。
“我们他妈的收到了$1亿对吧？”Zhuo Chen在电话中说。
在另一个电话中，Zhuo Chen和一个同伙聊到了澳洲联邦警方调查他们的事，他指导同伙如果被警方找上门，要销毁或捏造证据，还说：“我们可以再见个面，看看我们编的故事有没有破绽。”
今年8月，Zhuo Chen飞往新加坡，与一名同案被告见了面，开了一个银行账户，并与一名会计和一名律师进行了交谈。
警方称，Zhuo Chen在越南、柬埔寨和马来西亚也有业务，他希望在那里成立一个小团队,因为他的业务“在灰色地带运作”。
目前，警方还在努力将这数千个小时的电话从普通话翻译成英语，并调查该团伙的其他账户和资产。
在保释听证会上，警方反对Zhuo Chen的保释，因为他在海外账户有很多资产，一旦他被保释，海外的犯罪集团可能会协助他逃离澳洲，他之前曾两次联系私人飞机公司，而且他有干扰证人和证据的风险。
但Zhuo Chen的律师表示，私人飞机公司已经表态，在Zhuo Chen保释期间不会接受他的业务。
律师还说，Zhuo Chen不会认罪。
法官认为，鉴于案情复杂，数千个小时的电话翻译需要很长时间，案件的延期无可避免，因此批准了Zhuo Chen的保释，条件是不能离开自己的家，上交护照，只能通过警方已知的唯一一个IP地址上网，并在释放后24小时内向警方提供银行信息、手机和IP地址。
Zhuo Chen的父母将自己价值$130万的房子拿出来，作为对他保释的担保，他还主动提出佩戴电子脚铐。
三名同案被告——Zhuo Chen的妻子Jie Lu，以及Jin Wang和 Jing Zhu也被保释，另外三人没有申请保释，目前仍在监狱。
Zhuo Chen和妻子有一个21个月大的孩子。
案件将于2024年3月再次开庭。
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