By Dorothy Kosich
Australian Mining
Documents filed in two civil lawsuits in Queensland’s Supreme Court have identified individuals believed to have participated in one of Australia’s largest organised tax frauds, involving millions in illegal gold bullion sales.
On October 30, 2013, the Australian Federal Police reported that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Federal Police had executed search warrants on premises associated with companies operating in the gold bullion and precious metals industries.
Federal investigators said the scam involved altering or mislabeling pure gold bullion bars and coins — which are legally not taxed — as lesser-quality or scrap gold, which is taxed at 10%, to claim at fake Good and Service Tax (GST) tax credit, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.