Hello Chasers
Following a warning last month from the ATO to come forward or face severe consequences, the ATO-led Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (‘SFCT’) has undertaken further action in respect of around 40,000 individuals suspected of being involved in a major GST fraud.
Search warrants were executed this week, with the support of the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police, in relation to five suspected offenders located in Sydney as part of Operation Protego.
This follows coordinated action across the country last month where raids were executed against 19 individuals suspected of being involved in this GST fraud.
ATO Deputy Commissioner and Chief of the SFCT, Will Day, said the ATO has zero tolerance for any fraud against Australia’s tax and super system and has a clear and deliberate strategy to identify and pursue these individuals suspected of inventing fake businesses to claim false refunds.
As part of Operation Protego, the SFCT is also progressively sharing information relating to all individuals identified as participating in this fraud, with the details of around 29,000 individuals provided by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) to date.
The ATO announced in May that investigations were underway in relation to Operation Protego. Since this date, our sophisticated data analysis, modelling and proactive response to the fraud attempts have resulted in the ATO stopping over $1 billion in fraudulent refunds from issuing. Editor:
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