How Chinese Fortunes Are Hidden In Australia

icyfroth — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 23:30:32 GMT

At a Chinese wedding the passing of red envelopes to the bride and groom is customary. They are usually filled with a few hundred dollars in cash to celebrate the marriage but, at the 2008 wedding of Su Guanlin and Qian Yi, two gifts were far more generous. The first contained 100,000 yuan ($18,200), a present that would have filled at least 10 red envelopes. The second was a more compact $US10,000 ($11,400).

While substantial, these two wedding gifts were just the beginning of what Su, the son of a powerful Chinese railway official, would receive during his time in Australia.

After his father, Su Shunhu, was sentenced to life in prison for corruption by a Beijing court last Friday, an investigation by AFR Weekend has pieced together the money trail between China and Australia.

Using court documents from the trial, along with property and company searches in Australia, it provides the first detailed account of Australia’s status as a favoured destination for the funds of corrupt Chinese officials. Court documents show the money began flowing to Australia in the months after Su and Qian were married.

They reveal that $1.2 million was transferred to their Australian bank accounts between December 2008 and January 2010.

The money was wired to Australia from both the industrial city of Nanchang, south west of Shanghai, and Hong Kong in 16 separate instalments.

Since it began landing in Australia, the couple have bought and sold around $4.5 million worth of property in Sydney.

Their situation is not unique.

This flow of money out of China has reportedly boosted demand for houses, filled universities and fuelled spending on luxury goods right across the Australian economy. But the party may be coming to an end as Chinese authorities and the Australian Federal Police increase co-operation to seize and repatriate the proceeds of crime.

From 2003 onwards Su found himself as the ultimate decision-maker on which companies could use the rail network to transport their goods.

As demand for rail freight vastly outstripped supply, he had the power to decide if a load of coal would be stranded at a rail siding or if goods would remain on the factory floor.

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On our usual Sunday morning walk through the streets of Cremorne and Neutral Bay, my neighbour and I are shocked to see how many homes and units are for sale. It's become a Saturday sport for us to attend building inspections just for a stickybeak,

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How Chinese Fortunes Are Hidden In Australia