Dealing with Property Reasonably Suspected of being Proceeds of Crime – $10 Million or More

Dealing with property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime – $10 million or more is an offence under section 400.9(1AA) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

To establish the offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

1. You dealt with money and/or property
2. It was reasonable to suspect the money and/or property was the proceeds of crime, and
3. The value of the money and/or property was at least $10 million.

You ‘dealt with’ money or property if you:

1. Received, possessed, concealed or disposed of it
2. Imported it into, or exported it from, Australia, or
3. Engaged in a banking transaction relating to it.

‘Importing’ or ‘exporting’ includes transferring by electronic communication.

‘Property’ means real or personal property of any description, whether in Australia or elsewhere, whether tangible or intangible, including any interest in the property.

The definition encompasses financial instruments, cards and other objects that represent or can be exchanged for money.

‘Proceeds of crime’ means wholly or partly derived or realised, directly or indirectly, by any person from the commission of an offence against the Commonwealth, a State or Territory, or a foreign country, that may be dealt with as an indictable offence.

An ‘indictable offence’ is one which may be dealt with in a higher court such as the District or Supreme Court.

You are not guilty of the offence if you are able to establish ‘on the balance of probabilities’ that you mistakenly but reasonably believed the value of the money or property was less than $10 million.

In that event, you may be found guilty of an alternative, less serious offence.

Duress is a defence to the charge.