A purveyor of fine food urged a fellow Canberra restaurateur not to be "a pussy" as the pair cooked up a scheme to mislead police about the origins of drug money, unaware officers were listening in.
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The intercepted call between acclaimed Courgette chef James Mussillon and The Scholar co-owner Wing Hei Leung, 41, was revealed in documents tendered to the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday.
Acting Justice Peter Berman sentenced Leung, described as a "criminal assistant" who hid money for higher-ranking members of an organised network, to a 12-month intensive correction order.
Leung, also known as Duncan Leung, had previously pleaded guilty to charges of general dishonesty and dealing with property reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Court documents show police investigating Mussillon for money laundering were watching Mohammed Al-Mofathel, the man accused of giving the chef dirty cash, in March 2021.
After officers conducting surveillance saw Al-Mofathel's car at Leung's restaurant in Dickson, they tailed the latter to his home in Palmerston and carried out a search.
Inside a wardrobe in Leung's bedroom, police found several shopping bags.
Within these, one of which had Al-Mofathel's fingerprints on it, were a number of vacuum-sealed bags that contained a total of $153,600 in cash.
When interviewed, Leung told police, who seized the money, that he had borrowed $100,000 from a friend and fellow restaurant owner named James.
The 41-year-old said the rest of the cash had come from his business and family.
Mussillon, who also spoke to police, told the same story about providing Leung $100,000.
He subsequently created a false loan agreement, which Leung signed, and gave it to police in a bid to make the cash appear legitimate and secure its return.
In an intercepted call, Mussillon, 51, told Leung he needed to believe he was innocent.
"There's nothing wrong," the award-winning chef said as investigators eavesdropped.
"You did nothing wrong, OK? Believe it. Don't be a pussy. Believe it, OK?"
The pair's lies eventually unravelled for good in August 2021, when Mussillon was arrested.
In an interview at City Police Station, Mussillon admitted he did not loan Leung the $100,000 and had "fabricated the story in an attempt to have the money returned".
While Leung continued to lie to investigators even after his co-offender came clean, he later pleaded guilty.
He then told a pre-sentence report author he "didn't think deeply" about his behaviour and had wound up in the "worst situation of my life".
According to the report, Leung said his business had been failing because of COVID-19 and he started hiding money for members of a criminal syndicate "for financial reasons".
His barrister, Katrina Musgrove, told the court the Hongkonger was a "hard-working businessman", whose struggles had led him to become a "bit player" in the syndicate.
Ms Musgrove said Leung felt "deep shame and regret" about his "foolish" criminal conduct, which he felt had dishonoured his family.
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She asked Acting Justice Berman to impose a suspended jail sentence, though she said an intensive correction order would also be appropriate.
Prosecutor Trent Hickey said Leung's wardrobe had contained "a substantial amount of money", which was "proceeds of illegal drug trafficking".
He said its value was evident in "the lengths [the offenders] went to to recover the money".
"[Ms Musgrove]'s submitted that he was not the orchestrator," Mr Hickey said.
"Sure, but he was a willing part of that criminal syndicate or enterprise."
Imposing the intensive correction order, Acting Justice Berman said high-level offenders often used "assistants" with no criminal record to minimise their chances of being caught.
He said the sentence imposed on Leung, one such "assistant", needed to be stern enough to deter others from similar offending.
"If the higher-level criminals can't get anyone to do their dirty work, then the community benefits," the judge said.
Acting Justice Berman found Leung had "very good" prospects for rehabilitation, and accepted he had offended in order to obtain money to boost his legitimate business.
Mussillon, who has pleaded guilty to charges that include money laundering, perjury and fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
Al-Mofathel, meanwhile, is set to stand trial after denying a series of charges that include drug trafficking.
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