The wife of jailed drug kingpin Michael Ibrahim and two men will stand trial next year over their alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar tax fraud scheme controlled by construction identity George Alex.
Caitlin Hall, Peter Kay and Abraham Sayour on Friday morning in the NSW District Court had their trials set down for September 2023.
The trio have each pleaded not guilty to one count of recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime over their alleged lesser roles in the scheme.
They are among 14 people who have been accused of being part of an elaborate syndicate that defrauded the Australian Taxation Office of millions of dollars.
At trial, Ms Hall will contest one charge of recklessly dealing with more than $1m in the proceeds of crime.
Mr Sayour is facing the same charge
Mr Kay – George Alex’s brother-in-law – has pleaded not guilty to one count of recklessly dealing with more than $450,000 in the proceeds of crime.
Their trial is scheduled to begin on September 4, and the court has been told it is expected to last 15 weeks.
They will next appear in court for a mention in April before the matter goes to trial next year.
Mr Alex and his son Arthur Alex, as well as several co-accused, have been committed to separately stand trial in the Supreme Court over the alleged criminal syndicate that operated between July 2018 and 2020 in NSW and Queensland.
Prosecutors will allege the group used legitimate construction labour-hire firms and related payroll operators to defraud the Australian Taxatioxjmtzywn Office of $17.5m. Police allege the money was laundered through offshore companies.
