ATO deputy cleared of fraud after son arrested in $165m fraud conspiracy
Australian Tax Office boss Michael Cranston has been cleared of fraud as police investigate a multi-million dollar Sydney tax scam.
Australian Federal Police confirmed the ATO deputy commissioner was being investigated as part of the tax fraud conspiracy because of his position in relation to a family connection.
His son Adam Cranston is facing 10 years behind bars if he is convicted of using his business to siphon $165 million from the ATO.
Michael Cranston is facing the lesser charge of abusing his position as a public official after he allegedly accessed an audit into his son who had reached out for help.
Federal agents were considering fraud charges against Cranston Sr when they executed search warrants in raids on 28 properties last Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph reports.
One warrant reportedly stated investigators were looking for sufficient evidence to support a charge of "conspire to defraud the Commonwealth" in relation to the father and son.
"The AFP always needed to consider whether Michael Cranston was involved in the conspiracy, however subsequent investigation clearly demonstrated he was not involved," an AFP spokeswoman told the newspaper.
They added that now the ATO boss "is not being considered for conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth".
In last week's raids, officials seized a haul of luxury items including two planes, sports cars, jewellery, artwork, firearms and at least $1 million cash found in a safety deposit box in the raids on properties linked to the syndicate.
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ALLEGATIONS AGAINST KEY PLAYERS IN THE ATO FRAUD CASE:
ADAM MICHAEL CRANSTON, 30
* Controlled payroll company Plutus as a director of its sole shareholder Synep
* Asked his father, ATO deputy commissioner Michael Cranston, for information after second-tier companies were investigated
* Charge: conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth
LAUREN ANNE CRANSTON, 24
* Jointly exercised day-to-day controls over bank accounts of second-tier companies to which legitimate payroll requests were funnelled
* Kept Excel spreadsheets on a laptop which allegedly showed the enormous amounts of tax being withheld from the ATO
* Charges: conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth and dealing in the proceeds of crime
SIMON PAUL ANQUETIL, 33
* Former director of Plutus who continued to manage it during the alleged conspiracy
* Charge: conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth
DANIEL ROSTANKOVSKI, 28
* Managed so-called "straw directors" of second-tier companies who were paid between $12,000 and $127,000 to allow main conspirators to distance themselves from the scam
* Paid $173,609 for his role
* Charge: demanding with menace with the intention to gain or cause a loss
DEV MENON, 33
* Tax lawyer who participated actively in the conspiracy, giving advice to co-accused about how the scam should be managed
* Assisted in calculating the proceeds
* Worked as a conduit between Rostankovski and other co-accused
* Charge: conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth
DEVYN MICHELLE HAMMOND, 24
* Jointly exercised control over second-tier companies with Lauren Cranston
* Charge: conspire to cause loss
JASON CORNELL ONLEY, 46
* Director of Synep who exercised joint control of Plutus
* Charge: conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth
CHRISTOPHER JAMES GUILLAN, 29
* Charge: dealing with the proceeds of crime
DANIEL SIMON HAUSMAN, 41
* Charge: demanding with menace with the intention to gain or cause a loss
AARON LEO PAUL, 33
* Associate of Adam Cranston who replaced straw directors managed by Rostankovski
