Police follow money trail to white-collar professionals

COMMERCIAL lawyers and accountants suspected of helping criminal enterprises are under investigation by police leading the sustained assault on bikie gangs.

Bikie money trails followed by anti-bikie taskforce Maxima's "criminal economy unit" have led police to the offices of white-collar professionals. Maxima's boss Mick Niland said police had "good intelligence that some of these criminal motorcycle gangs have surrounded themselves with the accountants and the commercial/civil type of solicitors to bury their ill-gotten wealth".

"Slowly but surely we will make inroads in regards to these matters," he said.

"Our criminal economy unit is specifically tasked to identify the ill-gotten gains and as part of that task we have current investigations into professional people in these areas."

Detective Superintendent Niland said these kinds of lawyers and accountants could face charges including money laundering and fraud.

They also risk being treated as "criminal organisation participants" under anti-bikie laws, which could add an extra 15 years to their jail sentences for serious crimes and reduce their chances of bail.

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