Australia’s biggest banks have reportedly been used to transfer millions from a sophisticated money laundering scheme involving the Russian mafia.
That’s the claim from a man described as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s enemy number one, who has called for a criminal investigation into Australian links into the $230million scheme.
American-born British financier and billionaire whistleblower Bill Browder has traced some of the stolen proceeds from the Kremlin to Australia via a maze of international companies following an eight year investigation.
Billionaire whistleblower Bill Browder (pictured) has contacted the authorities for the transactions to be investigated
The $230million stolen on Christmas Eve 2007 by criminals falsely claiming they own some of Mr Browder’s Russian companies was the largest tax refund request in the history of the country.
Bank records obtained in an international investigation by Sunday Night show $4.7 million in payments to 11 Australian accounts from foreign accounts suspected to have received proceeds from the $230million Russian treasury fraud.
The companies range from sheepskin exporters and aluminium manufacturers to a business specialising in travel to Russia.
One of the biggest transactions was $1.2million to Australian Quality Sheepskin Pty Ltd from companies he claims are in the money-laundering business.
Australia’s major banks received funds, which came under fire from Bill Browder for not having better procedures to realise what was going on
‘What is very suspicious about this is they got more than a $1million, and it comes from a company, an Estonian bank account of a company called Megacom Transit Limited and Everfront Sales – and these two companies are not in the sheepskin business,’ Mr Browder told Sunday Night.
It appears Australian-based recipients were innocent parties in the money-laundering scheme.
Most of these companies have since gone out of business, and those still operating insisted that the payments were legitimate.
Bill Browder has spent eight years investigating the Australian links in the Russian money laundering scheme (pictured)
Many of Australia’s major banks received funds, which came under fire from Mr Browder for not having better procedures to realise what was going on.
‘Basically, nobody was asking any questions,’ Mr Browder said.
Mr Browder has been in touch with Australian Federal Police and Australia’s money-laundering authorities to request the Australian transactions be investigated.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop declined the program’s repeated requests for an interview about Australia’s safeguards against Russian money-laundering.
‘I think that, like politicians and government officials it’s easier to avoid action. But we’re going to hold the government to account. We’re going to make this thing happen in Australia,’ Mr Browder said.
Mr Browder is lobbying for Australia to pass a Magnitsky Act in honour of Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer he hired to find out how the monumental fraud was pulled off before he was arrested a few months later and beaten to death in jail.
The US, Britain and Canada have all passed the legislation, which aims stop money laundering out of Russia into foreign banks.