An Australian court has overturned the seizure of a luxury Melbourne home linked to South Sudan’s labor minister, ruling that the property was not purchased with the proceeds of crime, Australian media reported.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) obtained restraining orders in 2017 over a five-bedroom home in Narre Warren, a suburb of Melbourne, and an Audi vehicle, after a court found reasonable grounds to suspect they were acquired through criminal activity.
The home and car were registered in the names of the son and daughter of South Sudan’s Labor Minister and former army chief Gen. James Hoth Mai, who arrived in Australia with their mother and siblings on humanitarian visas in the early 2000s.
At the time of the seizure, the court was told neither child had declared income to the Australian Taxation Office since 2009 and both were receiving government welfare payments.
The Narre Warren property was purchased in 2014 for 1.5 million Australian dollars ($1 million), while the Audi was bought in 2015 for about 35,000 Australian dollars ($23,000). Authorities said the funds originated from an Australian-registered business known as Sportscars via Uganda.
After a series of unsuccessful appeals by the minister’s children, Mai joined his wife and children in a 2020 legal bid to have the assets released by arguing they were lawfully acquired.
The case was heard over seven days in Victoria’s County Court in June last year. Judge Andrew Fraatz delivered his ruling on Dec. 23, finding in favor of the family.
In his decision, Fraatz accepted Mai’s testimony that the money used to purchase the property came from legitimate rental income generated by two properties he owned in South Sudan.
“I accept the funds transferred to Australia were earned by the minister from his rental properties,” the judge said. “There are no reasonable grounds for the court to suspect that the funds were proceeds of crime.”
Fraatz rejected an expert report submitted on behalf of the AFP that described the funds as a “large and unexplained amount of money.”
The court was told that Mai, his wife and their children have never been charged with criminal offenses in Australia or overseas.
The judge accepted evidence that Mai was gifted two properties in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, in the mid-2000s. One property, known as Block K3K, was given to him in 2007 by Brig. Martin Kenyi. Mai later built a house on the land and leased it to the South African government for consular use, earning about $1.41 million between 2009 and 2016.
A second property, Khor William, was gifted to Mai in 2008 in recognition of his military service and later leased to a South Sudan defense official for three years at $12,000 per month.
Fraatz said he was satisfied the documents relating to the properties were authentic and that the “significant income” generated was used to purchase the Melbourne home.
The restraining orders on the home and Audi will be lifted. Further hearings will determine legal costs.