The luxury watches, the 20 flights to China and the Sydney international student
A Chinese international student in Sydney has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a $5 million GST fraud scheme involving luxury watches. Police seized significant cash and high-value items during a raid on his apartment.
Why it matters
The case highlights vulnerabilities in tourist tax refund schemes and the activities of transnational criminal syndicates.
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Share A A A A Sydney international student is behind bars after allegations he fraudulently claimed more than $5 million worth of GST refunds on luxury watches.
Mingyi Chi, a 28-year-old Chinese national living in Haymarket while studying in Sydney, was arrested in May by police probing suspicions of a transnational criminal syndicate using Australia’s tourist refund scheme to falsely claim GST refunds on luxury watches.
A Patek Phillipe watch, one of several seized by police AFP Chi was, police said in a media release on Wednesday, one of several individuals “engaged in rapid international travel, structured cash deposits and the circulation of high-value goods”.
Investigators say Chi allegedly lodged more than $5 million in fraudulent refund claims for luxury watches at Sydney Airport.
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