Jailed Comanchero boss takes cops to court to find out what happened to $200,000 seized in raids on his home, gym and tattoo parlor
- Comanchero boss Mick Murray is suing Victoria Police
- Claims $200,000 seized from home, gym, tattoo parlor goes missing
Jailed Comanchero boss Mick Murray has called for answers about a missing $200,000 Victoria Police seized in raids on his home, gym and tattoo parlor nearly a decade ago.
The 45-year-old is currently behind bars awaiting a murder trial for the alleged 2019 shooting of gangland figure Mitat Rasimi.
Meanwhile, Murray has taken the police to court to “hold them accountable” for the seized money.
In February 2014, police raided Comanchero’s property, with the Echo Taskforce seizing $105,650 from the Nitro Ink Tattoo shop in Hampton Park, $77,434.15 from Nitro Gym in Hallam, and $20,900 from Murray’s home.
Comanchero boss Mick Murray (pictured), who is in jail awaiting murder trial, has taken Victoria police to court for more than $200,000 seized from his home, gym and tattoo shop a decade ago. lounge
The Comanchero boss’s lawyer, Sonja Radovic, told Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday that the “substantial” amounts of cash Seized by Echo have not been found, the Announce sun reports.
“What I need, Your Honor, is someone to get down to earth and hold them accountable,” Ms. Radovic told Magistrate Gregory McNamara.
The money seized from Murray’s house is said to have been used to pay off his debt to Australian tax authorities, but Ms Radovic said there was no evidence it had been transferred to the ATO and no information on what happened to the other $183,000 had happened.
“I’m not contesting the attachment… My problem is, where did the money go?” she said
Sr. Sergeant Alex Austin, who was in court on behalf of Victoria Police, stated that it was a matter for the ATO and that the money was not missing.
He explained that Echo was “forced” to hand over the $200,000 after getting an order from the ATO in August 2014, and if they hadn’t complied they would have committed a criminal offence.
Murray is currently behind bars for the alleged 2019 shooting of gangland figure Mitat Rasimi (Photo: Mick Murray (left) with Allan Meehan (right))
He said $20,000 was held as credit by the ATO in a “Michael Murray” debt account with the rest of the money in an account called “Nitro Holdings Pty Ltd.”
“The money is all in ATO accounts and has been since October 2014,” he said.
In 2017, Murray and his former partner Debbie Pitman were ordered to pay $3.72 million to the IRS.
Murray’s lawyer said the money from the gym and tattoo parlor did not belong to Murray, as it was business money, so it could not be used for debts in his name.
“Victoria Police cannot act as a collection agency for the tax authorities,” she said.
Magistrate McNamara rejected Murray’s request for the money to be returned as it had been submitted under the wrong legislation and rejected his request for Victoria Police to pay the legal bill.
Ms. Radovic made it clear that she will resubmit the claim to recover the confiscated goods.