Ben Aulich committed for trial on illegal cigarette conspiracy allegations

Former top lawyer Ben Aulich has lost his attempt to have his charges dismissed over an alleged illegal cigarette conspiracy and has been committed for trial.

He and accountant Michael Anthony Papandrea, who both pleaded not guilty to their charges, had fought the case against them in a contested committal hearing in the ACT Magistrates Court earlier this year.

In his decision on Thursday (15 August), Special Magistrate Sean Richter said it was not up to him to determine if there was enough evidence for a conviction.

However, he also said he could not be satisfied there was no reasonable prospect that the defendants would not be found guilty. He committed both to the ACT Supreme Court for trial.

Mr Aulich’s solicitor, Peter Woodhouse of Aulich, then sought leave to withdraw from the matter, which was granted.

The matter will first appear in the higher court on 4 September, and bail will be continued.

Mr Aulich, 51, and Mr Papandrea, 57, were both charged with conspiracy, while the former was also charged with recruiting people to engage in criminal activity in the alternative.

Posing as a person called ‘Alex Torosian’, an undercover police officer had sought legal advice from Mr Aulich as he claimed police had seized $100,000 in cash from him, also allegedly telling the lawyer that the money was the result of him importing illegal cigarettes from China to Sydney, court documents say.

Mr Torosian allegedly told Mr Aulich, and later Mr Papandrea, that he earned about $100,000 cash each month from the illegal importation and sale of cigarettes.

It is alleged Mr Aulich offered to represent Mr Torosian and had police return the money to him, then also offered to help him launder both this $100,000 and the money he earned each month from illegal cigarettes.

Mr Aulich introduced Mr Torosian to Mr Papandrea, then the two allegedly came up with a scheme in which Mr Torosian would buy a supermarket to be partly paid for in cash. Mr Torosian would then allegedly be able to launder the proceeds of crime through the business.

The amount expected to be made from this alleged enterprise was about $1.2 million a year.

In written submissions for the contested committal hearing, Mr Aulich’s barrister, David Campbell SC, argued that the prosecution case did not support an allegation that the defendants intended to deal with the illegal money themselves.

“I couldn’t set up stuff that I know is illegal,” Mr Aulich said during a meeting on 31 July 2020 with Mr Papandrea and Mr Torosian.

Mr Campbell had argued that there was no prospect of a jury finding either defendant guilty of conspiracy and his client should be discharged of both charges.

Mr Aulich was the founding partner of the firm that bore his name, Aulich, but in July, his firm announced that he was no longer employed as a partner after his certificate was not renewed by the ACT Law Society.