Australia Police Charges 4 Chinese Men over $100M Cyber Scam

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has charged four Chinese nationals living in Sydney for their involvement in a cyber scam that has resulted in more than US$100 million ($A150m) in losses globally.

The four arrested men, aged 27, 24, 19 and 19, will next appear in court in January 2023 charged with proceeds of crime related offences.

​The alleged cyber-enabled investment scam is 'highly-sophisticated' and involves the unlawful manipulation of legitimate electronic trading software that is provided to clients by licensed foreign exchange brokers.

As alleged, they registered Australian companies with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to enhance the legitimate appearance of the fraud and also established Australian business bank accounts to launder the proceeds of crime.

Moreover, the Police stated that the scammers used dating sites, job ads and messaging apps to targe victimes before pitching the fraudulent investment opportunities. The victims were directed to both fraudulent and legitimate investment applications. The operators of fraudulent platforms showed manipulated market data to encourage victims to make further investments. Most victims of the scam are based in the United States. 

About $22.5million across 24 bank accounts has been frozen by Australian authorities in connection to the scam. The investigation into the scope of the scam and how much money has ben stolen from Australian investors remains ongoing.