Ben Aulich, Michael Papandrea, Bridie Harders deny facilitating organised crime

Ben Aulich, Bridie Harders and Michael Papandrea appeared briefly in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday morning, following their dramatic arrests and release on police bail last Wednesday.

All three have been charged with money laundering and dealing in more than $100,000 of the proceeds of crime. The two men also face a charge of recruiting people to engage in criminal activity.

Police allege the accused were involved in a scheme to buy a business and launder "large quantities" of tainted cash through it.

The court heard on Monday that between July and December this year, high-profile Civic lawyer Mr Aulich allegedly recruited Kingston accountant Mr Papandrea to engage in criminal activity.

Mr Papandrea is accused of enlisting another man, who has not been charged.

Prosecutor Keegan Lee told the court the money laundering and proceeds of crime charges had been incorrectly laid, and would need to be amended to allege that the trio had conspired to commit those offences.

He also said Mark Tedeschi QC, the former senior Crown prosecutor for NSW, would be briefed to lead the prosecution of these matters.

Both Mr Aulich and Mr Papandrea pleaded not guilty to the recruitment charge through their lawyers on Monday.

The remaining charges were not put to the defendants, but lawyer Peter Woodhouse indicated Mr Aulich and Mrs Harders, a partner in Mr Aulich's law firm, would both plead not guilty to all counts once the appropriate replacements had been proffered.

Mr Aulich and Mrs Harders will return to court on Thursday to apply for variations to their bail conditions, while Mr Papandrea is not due back until March 1.

Canberra's legal and business communities were rocked last week when the accused trio were arrested at the culmination of an eight-month investigation and accused by Detective Superintendent Scott Moller of being "professional facilitators" of organised crime.

The arrests followed a series of raids across the ACT and Queanbeyan.

"The organised crime landscape in Canberra is continuing to evolve, and criminal activities are becoming increasingly obscure through new technologies and sophisticated methods," Detective Superintendent Moller said.

"As ACT Policing looks to follow the money from organised crime, we must also follow the professional facilitators.

"We know that some organised crime groups and individuals lack the necessary skills or access to carry out their crimes, so they seek professional facilitators to arrange this for them."

Detective Superintendent Moller said restricting "professional facilitators" would make it harder for criminals in Canberra to legitimise illicit funds.

He has said that police expect to make further arrests and lay more charges.