Ahern v The Queen

The High Court of Australia heard an application for special leave to appeal in the matter of *Ahern v The Queen*. The applicant, Mr Ahern, had been convicted of conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth. The Crown's case was that Mr Ahern was a party to a scheme, commonly referred to as a "bottom of the harbour" scheme, involving numerous companies and transactions. While the existence of a conspiracy between certain named individuals was admitted, the sole issue at Mr Ahern's trial was whether the jury was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he was a participant in that conspiracy.

The legal issues before the High Court concerned the applicant's conviction for conspiracy to defraud. Specifically, the court was required to consider whether the prosecution had established, beyond reasonable doubt, that Mr Ahern knew the target companies would not be able to meet their tax liabilities and that he was aware these companies were being disposed of ("dumped") through a series of straw purchasers and directors, rather than through legitimate means to prevent tax liabilities from arising. The defence admitted Mr Ahern's involvement in activities that resulted in the companies being unable to pay their tax debts, but contended that many others were also innocently involved in these activities.

The court's reasoning, as indicated by the transcript, focused on the critical element that distinguished the scheme as a fraud on the Commonwealth. This element was the deliberate disposal of the companies to entities of no commercial substance, rather than taking steps to prevent tax liabilities. The prosecution's case hinged on proving Mr Ahern's knowledge of this fraudulent disposal. The applicant had been released from serving his sentence and was on parole at the time of the hearing.