New Zealand businessman Mark Bryers has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison by the New South Wales Supreme Court for his role in a $A17 million tax fraud scheme.
The charges followed an 18-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Tax Office, and the Australian Federal Police.
Authorities described the operation as targeting a “transnational and serious organised criminal syndicate” using payroll and labour hire companies in the building and construction industry to defraud the Australian government. Bryers was found guilty of conspiracy to cause loss and conspiring to deal in the proceeds of crime, with a non-parole period set at six years.
Bryers, infamous for his role in the collapse of New Zealand’s Blue Chip property company in 2008, which left investors $84 million out of pocket, has a history of financial misconduct. He declared personal bankruptcy in 2009 with debts of $230 million and pleaded guilty in 2010 to 34 financial reporting charges in New Zealand, resulting in fines and a ban on company management.
ASIC alleged that Bryers had been providing tax structuring advice to the criminal syndicate, compounding his legacy of fraudulent activity.
Leopard, spots and all that.