The alleged leaders of the Australian arm of a $150 million global financial scam have been arrested at Sydney and Melbourne airports after an investigation sparked by a tip-off from the United States Secret Service.
The two men, aged 27 and 24, were arrested two weeks ago trying to board flights to Hong Kong, which had been purchased as one-way tickets.
More than $22 million in 24 bank accounts allegedly linked to the criminal syndicate has been seized and two other Australian-based operatives have been arrested after the months-long investigation, Australian Federal Police said on Friday.
The group allegedly deployed a scam that involved manipulating legitimate online trading platforms to dupe victims into believing their investments were generating high returns.
The organised crime syndicate employed a sophisticated mix of social engineering techniques, including the use of dating sites, employment sites and messaging platforms to gain the victim's trust before mentioning investment opportunities, police alleged.
Victims were then directed to both fraudulent and legitimate investment applications that deal in foreign exchange and cryptocurrency, which had been maliciously manipulated to show a false positive return on investments.
The scammers allegedly directed victims to another manipulated investment service to encourage further investment, while concealing the fact the money had been stolen.
While the majority of victims were based in the United States, the US Secret Service in August alerted the AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre in August about Australian links.
Based on victim reports to police, more than US$100 million (A$148 million) in losses world-wide have been attributed to the syndicate.
The two Australian controllers have been remanded in custody on serious money laundering charges. They are due to face Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on January 18.
Two other men, both aged 19, have also been charged over their alleged roles. They are due to face a Sydney court in January on one count each of recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime.
The quartet were allegedly used to register Australian companies with the business regulator to enhance the legitimate appearance of fraud efforts, and also establish Australian business bank accounts to launder the proceeds of crime.
US Secret Service attache Ike Barnes said the joint investigation was a prime example of collaboration in law enforcement efforts to combat transnational organised criminal organisations attempting to exploit international boundaries in the hope of avoiding detection and arrest.
NSW Police said scams were becoming increasingly sophisticated, with many of the victims among the most vulnerable in the community.
"The people behind these scams have zero concern for those members of the community who may have lost their life savings or have been financially crippled," Detective Superintendent Martin Fileman said in a statement.
"People need to take extra care need to protect themselves: the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
Investigations into the true scope of the fraud on potential Australian victims are ongoing.
