Accused scam money launderer 'had 55 bank accounts'

A Queensland jury has heard a woman accused of laundering nearly $2.4 million on behalf of scammers had opened more than 55 bank accounts across several financial institutions. 

Rosse Eckl, 67, faced the third day of her two-week money laundering trial in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday after pleading not guilty to five counts of dealing in the proceeds of crime in amounts ranging from more than $1000 to more than $1 million.

Eckl was accused of using her bank accounts registered to her two Brisbane businesses to receive a total of $2.36 million in 2019 and 2020 from hackers running a fake invoice scam.

The alleged victims included a mining waste disposal company in Western Australia, a Brisbane engineering firm, a French equipment leasing company, an aged care home in Sydney and an animal feed supplier in South Australia.

Eckl, who is representing herself at trial, has not been accused of computer hacking or sending fraudulent emails and previously told police she had no idea the money came from illegal sources. 

The jury earlier heard audio recorded by Queensland Police while executing a search warrant on Eckl's home in Carina in Brisbane's inner east in August 2019. 

On the recording, Eckl asked the officers if they were asking for access to her Bankwest account. 

"We talked to all the banks. We're aware that over your time you've had in excess of 55 bank accounts with several different banks," an officer told Eckl.

She could be heard in the audio handing over access to her mobile phones, messaging applications and email accounts while denying she used encryption programs and other specialist software to hide her data.

Fraud examiner and Queensland Police investigative accountant Ivalina Capelo took the witness stand and talked the jury through dozens of transactions that allegedly concerned money from scams entering Eckl's accounts and then quickly being transferred or withdrawn.

Ms Capelo agreed with Crown Prosecutor Paul Bolster that many of the accounts were new and had no money in them before receiving amounts allegedly generated from crime ranging from $2300 to $1.164 million.

Ms Capelo said the significant amounts of money were paid out to the Remox and TransferWise companies, which offer foreign exchange and international money transfer services.

Mr Bolster presented the jury with records obtained from multiple banks that showed the cash withdrawals from tellers and ATMs were made using bank cards and a drivers licence later found at Eckl's home during the search warrant.