The fortune-teller, the Dover Heights mansion and the alleged $70m fraud

3 months ago 23

Inside what is alleged to be one of the largest fraud and money-laundering syndicates in Australian history.

A woman claiming to be a fortune-teller and feng shui master has been arrested and charged with facilitating $70 million worth of fraud for what is alleged to be one of the biggest financial crime syndicate’s in Australian history.

Police allege 53-year-old Anya Phan, who was on Wednesday morning arrested at her $12.9 million Dover Heights mansion alongside her 25-year-old daughter, used her position within the Vietnamese community to recruit mules for the so-called Penthouse Syndicate.

A months-long Herald investigation into the syndicate has uncovered allegations the group defrauded the National Australia Bank of more than $150 million in the past two years and used the tainted funds to build a property empire across Sydney with the help of the allegedly corrupt bank employees. Detectives allege Phan played a key part in the syndicate’s fraud, which they believe now exceeds $250 million across all major banks and other financiers dating back at least seven years.

Phan, with the help of her daughter, exploited vulnerable clients by convincing them to withdraw loans – from which she took a cut – telling them she envisioned becoming a billionaire in the future, police said.

Last week, this masthead revealed NAB senior business banking manager Timotius Donny Sungkar, 36, had been arrested and charged with facilitating around $10 million worth of fraudulent business loans for the Penthouse Syndicate. Police allege Sungkar, who remains in custody facing 19 charges, was paid $17,000 to approve loans he knew were applied for with fraudulent documents linked to shell companies purchased by the syndicate to facilitate its business and home loan fraud.

Anya Phan was arrested at her $12.9 million Dover Heights home on Wednesday morning.

Financial crimes squad detectives investigating the syndicate under Strike Force Myddleton have to date identified more than $150 million worth of allegedly fraudulent NAB mortgage and business loans they allege are connected to syndicate members. Several other NAB employees suspected of receiving bribes to knowingly approve fraudulent loans remain under investigation.

The Penthouse Syndicate is alleged to have purchased dozens of properties across Sydney through mules, like those allegedly recruited by Phan, working under the direction of the group’s alleged ringleader, Shanghai-born 38-year-old Bing “Michael” Li.

Property records show Phan’s four-bedroom, four-bathroom Dover Heights home was purchased for $12.9 million in February this year with a NAB mortgage. According to the property listing, the Gilbert Street home features a swimming pool, an indoor cinema and sweeping views of Sydney’s CBD. It is one of several luxury properties being lived in by syndicate members.

Phan was on Wednesday night charged with 39 offences, including directing the activities of a criminal group, 19 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, 13 counts of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime, and five counts of dealing with using identity information to commit an indictable offence.

Property records show Phan’s Dover Heights home was purchased in February this year for $12.9 million with a NAB mortgage.

Her daughter was charged with a raft of offences including participating in a criminal group, dealing with the proceeds of crime and dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.

During a search of Phan’s home, detectives seized luxury handbags, a 40-gram gold bar worth $10,000, financial documents, mobile phones and more than $6500 worth of Crown Casino chips.

In what was a major breakthrough in detectives investigation into the Penthouse Syndicate, Li was arrested in July in the $18 million penthouse of the Crown’s residential tower at Barangaroo, from where police say he directed the syndicate. Syndicate members, including Li, are believed to have used the casino to launder ill-gotten gains.

Li’s arrest and the subsequent investigation into the NAB employees has brought police scrutiny to professionals working on the outskirts of the finance industry, including corrupt solicitors, mortgage brokers and real estate agents who police say form a network of facilitators that helped the syndicate build its multimillion-dollar property portfolio. Li remains in custody after several failed bail applications, charged with dozens of fraud and money laundering offences.

Phan is the latest of 17 Penthouse Syndicate members to be arrested since Strike Force Myddleton was formed last January to investigate a $10 million fraud scheme involving the purchase of non-existent luxury cars in Sydney’s west.

“What began as an investigation into fraudulent car financing has expanded into uncovering one of the most sophisticated financial crime syndicates I have seen in my career at the helm of the financial crimes squad,” Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja, commander of the financial crimes squad, said.

“Our detectives have worked tirelessly to uncover a network that has not only targeted financial institutions but also manipulated vulnerable individuals for personal gain.”

Police seized casino chips, gold, luxury goods, mobile phones and financial documents during a search of Phan’s home.

The NSW Crime Commission has now seized $75 million worth of assets, $15 million of which is linked to Phan, linked to the Penthouse Syndicate, including property, sports cars and luxury goods.

Further arrests are expected as detectives identify the bank employees and professional facilitators facilitating fraud for the Penthouse Syndicate.

Phan was refused police bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday. Her daughter was granted conditional police bail to appear in the same court on January 23.

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