Case Reports
2023-2024
Location:
New South Wales
Organised Crime and National Security
NSW man Hamdi Alqudsi directed the activities of a terrorist organisation in Australia that planned terrorist acts and supported hostilities overseas. Prosecutors worked on the matter for four years, resulting in a successful outcome for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, with Mr Alqudsi being sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment in April 2023.
Location:
Western Australia
Fraud and Specialist Agencies
Following Australia’s deepest ever commercial dive, DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd (DOF) was fined $945,000 and ordered to pay $97,597 in costs due to its failures to take reasonably practicable steps to protect the health and safety of deep sea divers engaged to work at a depth of between 237 and 270 metres.
Location:
Australia
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime
Corporate offenders found to be engaged in foreign bribery are likely to face higher penalties after the High Court unanimously upheld an appeal in its August 2023 decision in The King v Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. The decision is a win for the CDPP which presented arguments before the High Court.
The appeal focused on the Court’s interpretation of s70.2(5)(b) of the Criminal Code (Cth) and held that the maximum penalty must be set with reference to the gross value of the benefit obtained from the offending, as opposed to the net value after the expense of the offending was offset.
The ruling is also likely to affect calculating penalties under s70.2(5) of the Criminal Code in a range of cases pursuant to the Corporations Act and the Competition and Consumer Act, including cartel conduct, misleading or deceptive conduct, market manipulation and insider trading.
Location:
New South Wales
Organised Crime and National Security
Wade Homewood engaged in terrorism offences for almost 3 years, motivated by right wing extremism. He was investigated, arrested and charged with terrorism offences contrary to s80.2C(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth), and a firearms offence contrary to s40(1) of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW).
Location:
Victoria
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime
Linden Phillips submitted fraudulent GST claims, was audited, investigated, charged and pleaded guilty to two charges of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage from the Commonwealth contrary to s134.2(1) of the Criminal Code, one charge of attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage from the Commonwealth contrary to sections 11.1 and 134.2(1) of the Criminal Code and one charge of dealing in proceeds of crime worth $100,000 or more contrary to s400.4(1) of the Criminal Code.
2022-2023
Location:
South Australia
Human Exploitation and Border Protection
On 21 December 2022, Judge Davison of the District Court of South Australia sentenced Cameron Bowen for both Commonwealth and state child exploitation offences occurring over a period of more than 5 years.
Location:
New South Wales
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime
The story of one of Australia’s largest and most complex criminal tax fraud enterprises is almost complete after years of the conspiracies operating, blackmail by co-offenders, a subsequent AFP/ATO investigation including surveillance and finally numerous prosecutions by the CDPP.
2021-2022
Location:
Victoria
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime
On 15 June 2022, the County Court of Victoria convicted and fined Avanteos $1.71 million for failing to update defective disclosure statements, which the Court described as a very serious failure of corporate governance.
Location:
Queensland
Fraud and Specialist Agencies
Brett Evans was charged with 35 offences contrary to the CATSI Act in that he used his position as an employee of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation dishonestly, with the intention of directly or indirectly gaining an advantage for himself.