Melbourne accountant charged over alleged involvement in money laundering syndicate

The accountant, Qi Gao, also known as Andy Gao, is a senior manager and founder of PGY Accounting and Business Solutions in Melbourne. Gao is also listed as a member of the Institute of Public Accountants.

Gao was arrested and charged on 31 March and has been granted bail to next appear before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 17 July. If convicted of both offences, he faces a maximum penalty of 27 years' imprisonment.

The arrest of the Melbourne accountant follows recent reports about the involvement of accountants and other professionals in a major mortgage fraud syndicate affecting all major banks and Macquarie.

The criminal syndicate obtained fraudulent home loans from major financial institutions by creating shell companies and using AI to produce false documentation.

The Australian Financial Review previously reported that the criminals were using “dodgy accountants” to inflate income to obtain the fraudulent loans.

The Commonwealth Bank previously referred two mortgage brokers and several accountants to police as part of an ongoing investigation into $1 billion in home loan fraud.

The Financial Review reported that while Gao was not a referrer through Commonwealth Bank’s introducer program for home loans, his firm did refer loans to mortgage brokers who were submitting applications to banks.

Last week a 32-year solicitor was also arrested on multiple charges relating to his alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar fraud and money laundering syndicate under Strike Force Myddleton.

The solicitor was charged with six counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, five counts of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime and participation in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity.

Originally, police believed the syndicate was using personal information to apply for loans to purchase “ghost cars” that did not exist, but the investigation has since expanded to include large-scale personal, business, and home loan fraud against multiple institutions.

AUSTRAC previously told sister brand The Adviser that the scale and sophistication of the recent mortgage fraud uncovered by the big banks demonstrated the need for a stronger anti‑money‑laundering and counter‑terrorism‑financing (AML/CTF) regime.

“This issue underscores why Australia is strengthening its AML/CTF framework to close long-standing gaps that criminals have been able to exploit,” AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas said.