A Sydney woman has been charged for allegedly laundering nearly $7 million on behalf of an Organised Crime Network (OCN) using fraudulent home loans. Xiaoli Xue, 36, was arrested in Berala on Thursday after a thorough investigation by financial crimes detectives. She was taken to Auburn Police Station and was denied bail, appearing in Burwood Local Court the following day.
Xue is accused of laundering money through mortgage repayments on seven properties, with a total value of $6.91 million. Police claim she applied for and secured up to 10 home loans from various banks since 2020 by using falsified documents that inflated her income. The funds were allegedly linked to the illegal tobacco trade.
Following her arrest, authorities executed three search warrants in Berala and Auburn. They uncovered $2.5 million worth of tobacco cigarettes, $28,000 worth of loose-leaf tobacco, $104,465 in cash, and a Mercedes GLC300 worth $110,000. Additionally, police discovered an illegal gambling den and an unlicensed tattoo parlour associated with the criminal network.
Xue was initially investigated as part of Strike Force Karawin, a task force established to examine the laundering of illegal tobacco funds through property deals connected to a Southeast Asian crime syndicate.
