NAB employee Timotius Donny Sungkar arrested, charged over alleged Penthouse Syndicate involvement

Sungkar had been with the bank since 2008, when he worked in a client advisory role, and was promoted to the senior role in October 2018, when he returned from an 18-month stint as a mortgage broker. In August 2022, he was promoted to the position where he deals directly with mortgage brokers who provide him with loan application documents.

Several other NAB employees are under investigation for allegedly providing home and business loans to the union under the direction of Shanghai-born Bing “Michael” Li, 38, the alleged ringleader of the Penthouse Union. These employees were not charged with anything, but were suspended from their duties pending the outcome of an internal investigation and detectives’ investigation into the employees’ alleged union ties.

No NAB customers were targeted in the alleged fraud.

Detectives have arrested 16 union members since Strike Force Myddleton was set up last January to investigate a $10 million fraud scheme involving the purchase of non-existent luxury cars in Sydney’s west.

“I said we were going to go after them, and we did,” said Detective Gordon Arbinja, commander of the financial crimes unit. reporter.

“And this person will not be the last.”

Li, a key catalyst for the spectacular collapse of the Penthouse Syndicate, was arrested in July in the $18 million penthouse of Crown’s Barangaroo residential tower, from where police say he ran the syndicate. Detectives believe the organization defrauded several major banks and other financiers of more than $250 million dating back at least seven years.

Li’s arrest and the subsequent investigation into NAB employees led to police scrutiny of professionals working on the fringes of the financial industry, including corrupt lawyers, mortgage brokers and real estate agents who police said formed a network of enablers that helped the syndicate build its multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio.

“There is trust at every point in the transaction. Whether it is a banker, a lawyer, an agent, an appraiser, there is always an element of trust that the bank relies on, and every time that trust has been violated,” Arbinja said.

Li, who remained in custody after several unsuccessful bail applications, has been charged with more than 80 offenses relating to fraud worth $12.9 million linked to the luxury car scheme and other scams, but police allege he was heavily involved in orchestrating much of the alleged NAB fraud and bought several properties over the past two years with mules hired by the syndicate. Detectives allege Li organized the laundering of millions of dollars by purchasing property and other assets.

Other NAB employees across Sydney are suspected of taking bribes from the union to approve applications for home and business loans; Police allege they knew these applications were submitted with false documents, including company records, tax returns and financial statements.

The union’s alleged infiltration of the financial giant raises questions about what anti-corruption measures are in place at the bank, which only became aware of the alleged fraud and its extent following a police investigation.

In July, NAB made an enforceable commitment with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC), the federal government’s anti-money laundering and financial crimes watchdog.

In exchange for relief from millions of dollars in fines, NAB agreed to improve its compliance with anti-money laundering laws and counter-terrorism financing laws.

Despite scrutiny into the bank’s fraud and money laundering controls, most of the Penthouse Syndicate’s alleged defrauding of NAB was carried out while the venture was ongoing.

Sungkar was allegedly paid $17,000 to provide millions of dollars worth of fraudulent business loans to “shell” companies purchased by the syndicate. Sungkar was allegedly paid by Li through transfers to his estranged wife’s bank account.

Penthouse Syndicate members purchased many of the companies, typically with at least two years of trading history, for between $5,000 and $10,000. Police allege the union used false financial documents linked to companies to inflate its members’ income and enable them to obtain millions of dollars in mortgages and business loans.

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Sungkar allegedly approved fraudulent business loans worth millions to several shell companies linked to syndicate members Hanna Karliana and her partner Indra Hari Nurkianto. Karliana, 61, and Nurkianto, 60, were charged with a string of crimes in August for their alleged roles in the Penthouse Syndicate.

Police allege the couple purchased $15 million worth of properties – two CBD flats and a Bellevue Hill townhouse – in the syndicate’s name using forged documents. Sungkar is accused of providing millions of dollars worth of business loans to shell companies in which Karliana and Nurkianto were directors.

Chris Sheehan, head of NAB’s group investigations and fraud business unit, said the bank had “zero tolerance for employees engaging in criminal behaviour”.

“Financial crime has absolutely no place in our community and we recognize the important role we play in monitoring and reporting suspicious activity, working closely with police, regulators and government agencies where necessary,” Sheehan said.

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Sheehan said NAB was working with police and “providing significant support to assist with the investigation and efforts to recover funds lost due to criminal activity”.

Arbinja said NAB has been cooperating with the police investigation since it became aware of the alleged fraud.

“Such syndicates can only be thoroughly investigated with the appropriate cooperation of our banking partners. This cannot be done with the police alone,” he said.

Beyond NAB, detectives are investigating suspicions that the organization has infiltrated other major banks in the country where it is believed to have been defrauded.

The NSW Crime Commission seized $60 million worth of property, cars and luxury goods linked to Li, his partner Zhouyao “Yumi” Chen and other syndicate members.

Chen, 37, was charged with several crimes related to both the luxury car scheme and fraudulent NAB mortgage and business loans allegedly worth more than $4 million.

Karliana and Nurkianto’s daughter-in-law, Thi Ngo Hao Vu, 35, was charged with a string of offenses related to alleged fraudulent mortgages and business loans worth $3.2 million.

Another senior NAB banking executive allegedly approved a $2 million mortgage application and a business loan worth about $500,000 after advising Li, Vu and her husband, Ibnu Pratama, on what documents would be needed to secure the loan, according to court documents. Used to purchase mortgage Bondi Junction beauty salon Beauty Pavilion.

Pratama left Australia in December 2023, a week after detectives raided the home of one of Li and Vu’s Beauty Pavilion business partners. He did not return to the country. A warrant was issued for his arrest in September.

Yizhe “Tony” He, who was allegedly involved in the syndicate’s operation along with Li, is being detained and charged with more than 100 crimes related to the same plan.

As detectives uncover the group’s alleged frauds and investigations into bank employees’ involvement continue, Li and Chen are expected to be charged with a number of other crimes, and other union members are also expected to be arrested.

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