AFP restrains assets of two Australian citizens charged with an espionage-related offence

The AFP has restrained the home and other assets belonging to two Russian-born Australian citizens arrested by the AFP and charged with an espionage-related offence on 11 July, 2024.

The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) is seeking to confiscate the married couple's apartment and financial savings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth).

On 2 August, 2024, the Queensland Supreme Court made restraining orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) over property owned by the couple, valued in excess of $550,000.

The AFP alleges the 40-year-old woman, who is an Army Private in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), and her 62-year-old husband, accessed sensitive ADF information with the intent to provide it to Russian authorities.

The property subject to the restraining orders includes a Brisbane apartment owned by the couple, multiple bank accounts, and the superannuation funds acquired by the woman during her employment with the ADF. Restraining orders prohibit the disposal of, or any dealing with the property subject to restraint, unless authorised by the court.

The pair was charged in July with one count each of preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment. It was the first time an espionage offence has been laid in Australia since new laws were introduced by the Commonwealth in 2018.

AFP CACT Acting Commander Amelia McDonald said the AFP and its partners would hold people to account and make sure they could lawfully justify the wealth and assets they accumulated.

"The AFP has a two-pronged strategy for combating illegal activity - investigation and criminal prosecutions; and also confiscating wealth from people who try to operate outside of the law," Acting Commander McDonald said.

The AFP-led CACT, which brings together the resources and expertise of the AFP, Australian Taxation Office, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, AUSTRAC and Australian Border Force, was launched in March 2011 and permanently established in 2012 as a proactive and innovative approach to trace, restrain and ultimately confiscate criminal assets.

The highly-skilled members of CACT are located Australia-wide and comprise police, financial investigators, forensic accountants, litigators, cryptocurrency experts and partner agency specialists.

The Commonwealth's proceeds of crime laws provide powerful tools for the restraint of both proceeds and instruments of crime, as well as financial penalty and unexplained wealth orders, based on a civil standard of proof. In December 2023, the CACT announced it had restrained $1.1 billion in criminal assets in just the past four years, delivering a significant blow to organised criminals.

The funds ultimately confiscated by the courts are placed into the Confiscated Assets Account, which is managed by the Australian Financial Security Authority on behalf of the Commonwealth. These funds can then be distributed by the Attorney-General (as Minister responsible) to benefit the community through crime prevention, intervention or diversion programs or other law enforcement initiatives across Australia.

The proceeds of crime proceedings and the criminal case both remain before the courts.

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