A 40-year-old man from Auckland, New Zealand, faces a wave of charges for money laundering via allegedly shady cryptocurrency transactions and luxury car purchases.
- According to reports by the NZHerald, the man, granted interim anonymity after he appeared at the Auckland District Court on Thursday, faces 30 charges in all.
- He is alleged to have received thousands of New Zealand dollars to buy cryptocurrency as part of transactions intended for money laundering, per the reporting.
- Other charges allege the man laundered funds via the purchase of high-end vehicles including NZ$421,000 (US$279,687) for a Lamborghini and around NZ$288,888 (US$191,919) for a Mercedes G63.
- NZ$1.7 million (US$1.12 million) is claimed to have been used to launder money through a property in East Auckland.
- He is further alleged to have laundered money received from an individual at Auckland Airport earlier this year, as well as obtaining over a million dollars from a bank using a false identity.
- The charges come after an asset-seizure operation from the police dubbed "Operation Brookings" involving numerous officers and a number of search warrants.
- In total, the operation netted seven high-end luxury vehicles and three properties worth an estimated $3.3 million (US$2.19 million) in total.
- Five other people have been arrested and stand accused of being involved in the laundering scheme.
See also: New Zealand Police Seize $90M Linked to Alleged BTC-e Exchange Operator
Disclosure
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.