A WA businessman has handed over $4 million in unexplained cash and assets to the Commonwealth after a two-year money laundering and tax fraud investigation.

Nick Ivanina, 60, was forced to forfeit millions he kept in Australian and Thailand bank accounts under the names of a relative and business associate, as well as his Burswood apartment, after the Australian Federal Police-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce pursued a tip-off about suspicious international banking activity.

Taskforce commander Stephen Fry told Gareth Parker on 6PR Breakfast there were no charges brought against Ivanina but the funds being “grossly disproportionate to the income he was declaring to the tax office”.

“Sometimes this money could’ve come from otherwise legitimate business activities that were not declared to the authorities, which is tax fraud,” he told Parker.

“They also could’ve come from illicit funds, but ultimately we suspected the funds were reasonably suspected proceeds of crime.”

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