Lawyers for a prominent Canberra solicitor fear the ACT's embattled Director of Public Prosecutions has "infected" a high-profile money laundering conspiracy case.
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Defence lawyer Peter Woodhouse expressed his concerns in correspondence tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court in the case against his business partner, Ben Aulich.
Aulich, 50, has pleaded not guilty to a charge alleging he conspired with accountant Michael Anthony Papandrea and an undercover police officer to launder the proceeds of fictitious illegal tobacco importations.
He also denies recruiting Papandrea, who has pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charge, to engage in criminal activity.
The prosecution case is that the undercover police officer, using the name "Alex Torosian", posed as a client of Aulich's self-titled law firm for about eight months in 2020.
"Torosian" covertly recorded numerous conversations, during which he purportedly pretended to be a criminal involved in the importation of illicit cigarettes.
The court has heard "Torosian" indicated he was likely to earn $100,000 per month from the imaginary scheme.
"What it means is you've got a wardrobe full of f---ing cash," Aulich is allegedly recorded telling the undercover officer. "What are you going to do with it?"
Aulich then answered that question, prosecutors claim, by conspiring with "Torosian" and Papandrea to buy a supermarket with which to wash the supposedly tainted cash.
The accused pair were set to face a contested committal hearing, which is designed to test whether there is sufficient evidence for a case to go to trial, on Thursday and Friday.
However, special magistrate Sean Richter was forced to vacate the hearing because of issues including controversy about the disclosure of documents to defence lawyers.
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Correspondence tendered to the court shows Mr Woodhouse wrote to prosecutors about Aulich's matter after the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, fronted an inquiry into the case of ex-Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.
Mr Drumgold came under fire in relation to a number of issues, including his handling of requests by Mr Lehrmann's lawyers to access documents in which senior police questioned the strength of evidence.
Mr Woodhouse wrote that Mr Drumgold's evidence to the inquiry made it "obvious that at least the director and several senior [Australian Federal Police] officers did not properly understand their disclosure obligations or, if they did understand them, they were content not to comply with them".
This caused Mr Woodhouse to fear Mr Drumgold's office had not complied with its obligations in relation to Aulich's case.
"Our concern is that Mr Drumgold's attitude or lack of understanding about disclosure has filtered throughout your office and infected this matter," a letter sent to prosecutors on June 23 states.
Mr Woodhouse noted a disclosure certificate provided in Aulich's case listed only 16 documents and did not refer to any internal correspondence between police officers.
He wrote that there must have been "extensive" internal correspondence during an operation that lasted more than eight months and involved "many dozens" of police officers.
The idea that authorities only had 16 documents capable of being disclosed, or withheld on grounds of privilege or immunity, "defies credulity", Mr Woodhouse wrote.
On Monday, prosecutors wrote to Mr Woodhouse and solicitor Rachel Fisher, who represents Papandrea, to suggest a joint application for an adjournment of the contested committal hearing.
They said they did not have various documents Mr Woodhouse was seeking, and suggested he should subpoena police if he still wanted them.
The case of Aulich and Papandrea is due back in court on September 18, but the contested committal hearing will not proceed until later.
The future of Mr Drumgold is also unclear, with the prosecutor having been on leave ever since he gave evidence at the inquiry into the abandoned case of Mr Lehrmann.
He was represented at the inquiry by high-profile barrister Mark Tedeschi KC, who has also been briefed by Mr Drumgold's office to lead the prosecution of Aulich and Papandrea.
The independent inquiry is due to deliver its findings to the ACT government next Monday.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has indicated the government will not release the findings for some time.
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