Property Laundering (WA)

In Western Australia, the offence of property laundering is governed by section 563A of the Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913. This page deals with property laundering in WA.

What is property laundering?

In Western Australia, the offence of property laundering is defined as:

• engaging directly or indirectly in a transaction that involves; or
• bringing into WA or receiving, possessing, concealing, disposing or dealing with;

any property that is the proceeds of an offence.

Proceeds of an offence

The proceeds of an offence is defined as ‘money or other property, that is derived or realised, directly or indirectly from the commission of an offence’.

Money or property does not cease to be the proceeds of crime because it is credited to a bank account, given away, or exchanged.

An offence may be an offence against WA law, or against the law of another state or territory.

A transaction includes a gift.

Defences

The Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 sets out two defences to property laundering.

Under section 563A (2), it is a defence if the accused person did not know, and did not believe or suspect, and did not have reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that money or property was the proceeds of crime.

Under the same section, it is a defence if the accused person carried out the act or omission making up the offence in order to assist the law enforcement of the Commonwealth or of a state or territory.

Sentencing orders

Property laundering carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for 20 years. However, there are no ‘established or customary patterns of sentencing’ for the offence. 

Jurisdiction

Property laundering is a serious indictable offence that can only be finalised in the Supreme Court.   

State of WA v Zhuang

In the 2021 Supreme Court of WA matter of State of WA v Zhuang, the prosecution appealed against the sentences that the court had imposed on Mr Zhuang for four offences, including two counts of dealing with money that was the proceeds of an offence.  

Mr Zhuang had received sentences of two years imprisonment for both counts of property laundering, to be served cumulatively with each other. Custodial sentences were also imposed for two counts of possessing a thing unlawfully obtained. The total effective sentence to be served was five years imprisonment.

The amounts of money involved in the two charges of property laundering were $1,608,920 and $1,420,000, respectively.

Mr Zhuang was found guilty of the four offences together with a co-offender. The two men had started a large-scale money laundering syndicate based in Victoria. The offences arose from four distinct trips the men made from Melbourne to Perth to collect large sums of cash. Neither man was at the top of the syndicate, but both stood to receive some amount of money for the role he played in the offending.

The men were not young and were not suffering from any mental illness. However, both were of previously good character. The court was not satisfied that the men were remorseful but accepted that they were unlikely to reoffend in a similar manner. The offending was deliberate and repeated and was a serious instance of money laundering.

The prosecution argued that the sentences were manifestly inadequate. 

The court found that there was no established customary sentencing pattern for offences against section 563A. However, it accepted that the sentences imposed were manifestly inadequate and allowed the appeal. The court resentenced Mr Zhuang to the following terms for the two counts of property laundering:

• five years and three months imprisonment (for the count involving $1,420,000)
• five years and nine months imprisonment (for the count involving $1,608, 920)

This resulted in a total effective sentence of seven years imprisonment.

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