Australian tio, including Vanda Gould, chairman of listed investment company CVC, charged in $30 million fraud investigation
October 16, 2013 Leave a comment
Trio charged in $30 million fraud investigation
October 16, 2013 – 12:50PM
Police have arrested Australian businessmen Vanda Gould and John Leaver and Belgian national Peter Borgas as part of an Operation Wickenby investigation into $30 million of tax evasion and money laundering. Mr Gould, who is chairman of listed investment company CVC, and Mr Leaver, who is a director of the company, were arrested in raids on their Sydney homes on Tuesday night.
Mr Borgas was arrested at Sydney International Airport as he was preparing to return to Switzerland, where he is based.
They face possible jail terms of up to 25 years.
Properties in the Sydney and Melbourne central business districts were also raided.
The men have been fighting the Australian Tax Office in civil court cases in Australia and the Cayman Islands over tax bills totalling about $40 million.
Federal Police said it will be alleged in court that the men used a complex network of offshore companies to conduct business in Australia.
The profits were allegedly then transferred back to Australian companies controlled by the men disguised as loans, fraudulently reducing their tax liabilities.
It will be alleged the men derived a tax benefit of $4.9 million over five years.
The men have been charged with conspiracy to dishonestly cause a loss to the Commonwealth and conspiracy to use the $30 million as an instrument of crime.
Federal Police said the operation was ongoing and further arrests were likely.
ATO Deputy Commissioner Greg Williams said the arrests were ”a warning to people who abuse tax secrecy havens”.
”We will hold tax cheats accountable,” he said.
Federal Police commander Matt Rippon said the arrests were ”another example of a collaborative commitment to targeting international money laundering activity regardless of the complexity of such schemes and the efforts of offenders in disguising their activities off-shore”.
The men were due to appear in Sydney Local Court this morning for a bail hearing.
CVC, which is not related to US private equity group CVC Capital Partners, is yet to inform the market that two of its directors have been arrested.
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