Australian police have charged a former National Australia Bank (NAB) employee accused of serving as the “gatekeeper of funds” for a major Sydney-based criminal syndicate allegedly responsible for defrauding multiple financial institutions of more than A$200 million ($130 million).
Financial crime detectives arrested the 36-year-old man early Thursday at a property in western Sydney, seizing luxury jewelry and watches worth about A$60,000, police said on Friday.
The man, who had worked at NAB for more than a decade as a senior business bank manager, was refused bail and charged with 19 offences, including obtaining financial advantage by deception, participating in a criminal group, and recklessly dealing with crime proceeds.
Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja described the man as a key enabler of the sophisticated operation, which police say ran fraudulent car financing and loan schemes targeting “all financial institutions.”
“As far as I’m concerned, this person is the gatekeeper of funds,” Arbinja said. “Without this person, the fraud cannot be facilitated. He was in a position of trust, and he violated that trust.”
Police allege the ex-banker personally facilitated at least A$10 million in fraudulent business loans for the network over three years.
The syndicate, dubbed the “Penthouse Syndicate” by local media, is believed to be among the largest white-collar criminal enterprises uncovered in New South Wales in recent years.
In a statement, NAB said it has “zero tolerance for employees who engage in criminal conduct” and that the bank acted swiftly to investigate before terminating the man’s employment.
The lender confirmed there was no impact on customers and that it was cooperating fully with law enforcement.
The arrest marks the 16th in the ongoing probe into the Penthouse Syndicate. In July, police charged two alleged ringleaders with a combined 194 offences and seized A$38 million in assets, including two Bentleys and a Ferrari.
Arbinja said investigators expect more arrests in the coming weeks, targeting “professional facilitators” such as bankers, mortgage brokers and lawyers linked to the criminal network.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
