Ex-MP charge on visa frauds
CONTROVERSIAL former Labor MP Craig Thomson has been hit with more than 30 charges, accused of being the primary facilitator in a multimillion-dollar migration fraud.
The 57-year-old was arrested by Australian Federal Police officers at his Terrigal home on the NSW Central Coast on Wednesday morning following an investigation also involving the Australian Border Force, AUSTRAC, the Australian Taxation Office and Department of Home Affairs.
Officers will allege they found evidence pointing to an alleged scheme that intended to defraud legitimate visa programs after an initial ABF investigation into allegations of major visa and migration fraud, dating back to August 2019.
Thomson is accused of allegedly facilitating more than 130 fraudulent visa applications over four years, focusing on the food service and regional farm worker industries.
According to the AFP, more than $2m was gained through the alleged dealings.
Nine search warrants were first conducted by AFP and ABF officers on July 21 at properties in Wamberal, Terrigal and Copacabana on the Central Coast; Revesby and Rockdale in Sydney; East Maitland in NSW; and Bundaberg West in Queensland.
Additional search warrants were conducted on Thomson’s Terrigal home and a Tuggerah property on Wednesday.
He faces 30 fraud charges and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Thomson became a federal Labor MP in 2007, holding his seat of Dobell on the NSW Central Coast until 2013.
In 2014 he was sentenced by a Victorian court to three months in jail, with a further nine months suspended, for stealing from the Health Services Union in his previous role as its national secretary.
AFP Commander Investigations, Eastern Command, Craig Bellis, said the charges laid involved a serious breach of public trust.
“The alleged offences in this matter involved the exploitation of federal government programs designed to assist Australian businesses, and it is incumbent on the AFP to investigate and prosecute instances of large-scale fraud against Australian taxpayers,” Mr Bellis said.
ABF Assistant Commissioner East and Port Operations, Erin Dale, said the ABF took a zero-tolerance approach to anyone trying to profit through the exploitation of vulnerable foreign workers.
“This investigation demonstrates the unwavering resolve of the ABF and AFP in preventing the exploitation of foreign workers in Australia. ‘Cash for visa’ schemes as they are often known, target vulnerable visa holders who may not be aware of Australian laws and workplace entitlements”, she said. “Together, the ABF and AFP will continue to pursue facilitators of visa and migration fraud, while protecting foreign workers.”
Investigations are continuing and further arrests have not been ruled out.