A veteran crime journalist allegedly embroiled in Australia's largest white-collar crime may be prevented from going overseas.
Steve Barrett, who formerly worked for 60 Minutes and was a long-time Seven Network employee, has been accused of blackmailing members of a $144 million tax fraud syndicate.
Steve Barrett has been accused of blackmailing members of a tax fraud syndicate. Credit: Peter Rae
Prosecutors in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday sought to add bail conditions that the 60-year-old not associate with certain people nor approach an international airport.
The bail hearing was scheduled for August 7.
Barrett is among 14 people charged over the alleged fraud involving a syndicate of companies with straw directors.
Police allege two children of then-deputy tax commissioner Michael Cranston were among those to help run a payroll scheme that took pay-as-you-go withholding tax from employees' pay packets but didn't pass it all onto the tax office as required.
Michael Cranston was charged with abusing public office to gain an advantage but police believe he was unwittingly caught up in the scheme.
Adam Cranston is among those charged over an alleged $144 million ATO tax fraud.Credit: Daniel Munoz
A court in 2017 heard Cranston warned son Adam about potential "unexplained wealth" just before the scam involving payroll manager Plutus Payroll was exposed.
Adam Cranston is charged with dealing with more than $1 million worth of crime proceeds and conspiring with five others to defraud the ATO.
Former journalist Barrett, 48-year-old lawyer Sevag Chalabian, 37-year-old former Plutus Payroll general manager Joshua Meredith Kitson and 55-year-old accountant Paul O'Leary had their matters mentioned for the first time in Downing Local Court on Tuesday.
Chalabian and Kitson are both charged with conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth while O'Leary allegedly dealt with more than $100,000 of property he could reasonably suspect was the proceeds of crime.
The brief of evidence against the 14 co-accused is believed to be tens of thousands of pages, with its index alone running to 468 pages, one lawyer told the court on Tuesday.
Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson was told the brief was so voluminous one of the new defendants was not in "a position at all to even think about" heading to a committal hearing.
Ms Atkinson acknowledged any committal hearing for the accused could take four to six weeks, meaning it won't be heard until 2019.
The case will next be mentioned in Downing Centre Local Court on October 2.
AAP