Busting the " Bikie " mob !

Sometimes the solution to seemingly intractable problems can be found by looking back into the past.  In the dizzy days of the 1920's the most celebrated gangster in the United States was Al Capone.   This swaggering bandit chief was constantly on the front pages of the nation's newspapers and his crime empire had tentacles into diverse avenues of American society.

What finally brought him down and landed him in prison - was tax evasion !

Bikie crime in Australia is big business.   It is estimated that it has an annual turnover of more than ten billion dollars spread across legal and illegal activities.  Drugs make a big contribution, but the bikie gangs have learned to diversify and they are now into tattoo parlours and car rebirthing rackets operating on the fringe of society.

The tax office is now going after these untaxed profits and as any honest business person will testify - fighting the tax office is usually a losing situation.  " Hot " money presents huge problems and trying to move it through the labyrinth of tax laws is like walking through a mine field.   At any stage the law is entitled to demand proof that this money was legally acquired - and then " proceeds of crime " legislation comes into play.

That is the situation that the 1200 members of the Rebels Motorcycle club are about to face.  It seems that 117 of them have never filed a tax return, and that can result in some very uncomfortable questions to be answered.    Cars - bikes - property - all manner of assets leave a money trail and it is up to the owner to provide proof that they were legally obtained.

Until now, the cops have been trying to bust the bikie gangs in the act of committing crimes.  Now the impetus has changed to the tax department going after the profits and making them pay their tax liabilities.
This reversal has changed the line of attack.   The bikie gangs have been very good at running their illegal activities out of sight but their lifestyle from the rewards is very public.

Accountants with calculators may be more dangerous than uniformed law enforcement officers with guns when it comes to gaining convictions in court.   That was something that Al Capone found to his horror - and resulted in him spending the rest of his life behind bars.

The bikie culture has every reason - to be very afraid !