NT gov agency targeted in alleged $3.5m BEC scam

A NT government agency was deceived by an alleged business email compromise scam that has seen a Sydney-based man arrested and charged.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement that a 38-year-old man from Lurnea in Sydney’s south-west had been charged with “allegedly dealing with $3.5 million in proceeds of crime after a corporate email was fraudulently used to deceive the Northern Territory government.”

“The AFP will allege the man registered a business to closely resemble [a] legitimate contractor for the government agency and opened a bank account to receive the fraudulently obtained funds,” it said.

“The government agency then paid $3,583,363 to the fraudulent bank account believing it was linked to the legitimate ... company.”

If convicted, the man faces a maximum of 12 years’ imprisonment.

AFP detective superintendent Marie Andersson said that “as a result of quick action and preventative measures undertaken by the bank involved, $3,571,760 of the allegedly stolen money was recovered.” 

It appears from the AFP statement that the bank was ANZ, with its head of financial crime threat management Milan Gigovic quoted as saying the bank’s financial crime team “is proactively collaborating with industry, government, and law enforcement agencies - including the Australian Federal Police’s JPC3 team - to detect and stop these scams before they cause harm.”

The man was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear before Campbelltown Local Court on September 17, 2025.