Catchwords:

Criminal practice – Forfeiture of tainted property – Where appellants remitted money to Australia using money remitters or money changers in foreign country – Where large number of cash deposits, usually each less than $10,000, made into appellants’ bank accounts in Australia in process known as “cuckoo smurfing” – Where deposits proceeds or instrument of structuring offence under s 142 of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) – Where Commissioner of Australian Federal Police successfully applied for restraining orders over appellants’ bank accounts under s 19 of Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) (“POCA”) – Where appellants applied under ss 29 and 31 of POCA to have property excluded from orders – Whether property “ceased” to be proceeds or instrument of offence under s 330(4) of POCA – Whether property acquired by third party for sufficient consideration without third party knowing, and in circumstances that would not arouse reasonable suspicion, that property proceeds or instrument under s 330(4)(a) of POCA.

Words and phrases – “acquisition of property”, “cuckoo smurfing”, “for sufficient consideration”, “in circumstances that would not have aroused a reasonable suspicion”, “instrument of a serious offence”, “money changers”, “money laundering”, “money remitters”, “proceeds of an indictable offence”, “proceeds of crime”, “reporting threshold”, “structuring offence”, “third party”, “volunteer”.