What is the crime of possessing dirty money?

Possession and handling of dirty money is an offence under Section 400.9(1) and (1)(A) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 , punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment for 3 years and/or a fine of up to $19,800.

Taking Section 400.9(1) (referring to situations where the value of the proceeds of crime dealt with is greater than $100,000) as an example:

To prove that you committed the crime, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that

• Have you handled these belongings?
• There are reasonable grounds to suspect that the property is the proceeds of crime
• The value of the property is equal to or greater than $100,000

Here, “processing” means

• receive, hold, conceal or dispose of;
• bring it into Australia or transfer it from Australia to another place (including by electronic communication);
• Participate in the bank transfer process

"Property" refers to all kinds of property in a broad sense, whether it is in Australia or not, whether it is tangible assets or intangible assets, and even includes various interest income involved in property. As long as it can be converted into money, it can be defined as property.

Proceeds of crime means proceeds derived wholly or in part, directly or indirectly, from the commission of an offence by any person under any Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation, or under foreign law.

Indictable offences are cases that are heard by a higher court, such as a district court or a high court.

If you can prove with a high probability (a probability greater than 50%) that you mistakenly but reasonably believed that the value of the property was less than $100,000, you are not guilty of this offense. You may still be guilty of another offense (such as Section 400.9(1)(A)), but the penalty will not be as severe.

Under this charge, Duress duress can be used as a defence.

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