Bank manager ‘gatekeeper’ of $200m fraud syndicate
Rachel Jackson and Alex Mitchell |
Dodgy mortgage brokers, real estate agents and solicitors are all being targeted by investigators after the latest arrest linked to a $200 million fraud syndicate.
A NAB insider was charged over allegedly using his position at the bank to deliver shonky business loans worth about $10 million.
The Sydney man’s arrest is the most recent in a string of busts targeting a group that allegedly used stolen personal information to apply for loans to buy non-existent luxury “ghost cars”.
Police estimate the syndicate is worth more than $200 million, saying the total figure “could get to at least a quarter of a billion”.
“In my time investigating corporate corruption matters of this magnitude, it would have to be in the top three that I’ve ever seen,” Financial Crimes Squad commander Gordon Arbinja told reporters on Friday.
The 36-year-old was hit with 19 charges after being arrested in the city’s southwest on Thursday.
He was “gatekeeper of funds” in the group, Detective Superintendent Arbinja alleged.
“Without this person, the fraud cannot be facilitated,” he said.
The man had been working with NAB since 2008 and had contributed to the syndicate for at least three years, Det Supt Arbinja said.
He left the bank for an 18-month period to work as a mortgage broker before returning as a business bank manager in 2018.
In 2022, he was promoted to a more senior role.
NAB, whose staff worked with NSW Police on the matter, confirmed the man’s employment had been terminated, adding the bank had zero tolerance for criminal conduct.
No customers had been impacted by the alleged fraud, it said.
He was the 16th person charged by a NSW Police strike force targeting the same syndicate, which has had $60 million in assets seized by the state’s crime commission.
Detectives initially focused on the syndicate’s use of stolen personal data to get loans to buy luxury cars that didn’t exist.
But plumbing the depths of the fraud has allegedly uncovered pools of funds derived from large-scale personal, business and home loan fraud against multiple lenders.
Police would now focus on professional facilitators including bankers, mortgage brokers, real estate agents and solicitors, Det Supt Arbinja said.
NAB’s group investigations executive Chris Sheehan said the bank acted swiftly to investigate and sack its employee.
“NAB has worked in partnership with NSW Police on this matter and continues to provide significant support to aid the investigation and attempted recovery of any funds lost to criminal activity,” he said.
“There is absolutely no place for financial crime in our community.
“We recognise the important role we play in the monitoring and reporting of suspicious activity, working closely with police as well as regulators and government agencies as necessary.”
The man was charged with nine counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
He was also charged with participating in a criminal group, dealing proceeds of crime charges and possessing anabolic steroids.
He was due to appear in Fairfield Local Court on Friday afternoon.
AAP
