An organised-crime probe into racing figure Paul Sequenzia has led to a tax bill of almost $6million being slapped on him and his two brothers, who are suspected of earning income that they failed to declare.
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Mr Sequenzia is a keen punter and successful horse owner who is believed to have significant underworld connections. His brothers, Ricky and Daniel, also have gambling and racing links.
The brothers have each been hit with tax bills of $1.5 million to $2 million in the past two weeks.
Since 2012, the Australian Tax Office has slugged a host of prominent underworld figures, including Mick Gatto and former Comanchero bikie club president Mick Murray, with multimillion-dollar tax bills. Some of those targeted have been locked in negotiations with the ATO to repay a small portion of their bills.
It can also be revealed that a national scheme targeting the unexplained wealth of crime syndicates could be finalised in weeks, with Justice Minister Michael Keenan saying the approach would put the squeeze on outlaw bikies and organised-crime kingpins.
Paul Sequenzia, the oldest of the brothers, has been implicated in several sports integrity scandals, including being suspected of doping and race fixing, which have raised serious questions about why he has not been banned from racetracks and Crown Casino.
The brothers, whose sister Antonella was the wife of slain gangland figure Mark Moran, own millions of dollars of property in Moonee Ponds, Keilor East and Niddrie, but it is unclear whether these assets were considered as part of the tax bill probe.
Paul and Ricky have been charged in relation to separate major drug trafficking investigations involving members of the Mokbel clan, but walked free after the matters were discontinued.
Paul had charges relating to his involvement in an alleged $2 billion drug ring headed by Tony Mokbel dropped in 2004, while Ricky, who was charged a decade earlier over an alleged plot to sell $370,000 of methamphetamine with Mokbel associate Vinnie "Big Nose" Panuccio, also had charges dropped because of a lack of evidence.
Ricky is also an owner and breeder of harness racing horses, and a poker player.
Daniel, the youngest brother, is the keenest poker player, and has played in tournaments boasting millions of dollars in prizemoney at Crown and throughout Australia for the past decade.
He played in the Aussie Millions at Crown last year, exiting with $54,700 of chips from a tournament that had a $10,600 buy-in and a $1.6 million prize.
Last month, The Age published photos of Paul, a successful horse owner who has won millions in prizemoney, associating freely with fellow punters at a harness racing meet in Cranbourne, despite his links to the cobalt scandal and previous race fixing probes.
Paul is close to Horty Mokbel, who is suspected of using online gambling accounts in the names of associates to launder about $3 million in drug money.
Mokbel, unlike Paul, has been slapped with an order authorised by the Chief Commissioner of Police that bans him from the casino and racetracks.
It is believed authorities are preparing to ban Paul from Crown and the track.
Fairfax Media has also been told that a new scheme targeting the unexplained wealth of some of Australia's most prominent organised-crime groups could be in operation by the end of the year.
The scheme would allow a national response to figures or syndicates with a presence in several states.
States would remain able to pursue action in their own jurisdictions, but the scheme would prevent the need for multiple prosecutions, and formalise agreements relating to the sharing of proceeds.
It would give authorities the power to seize the assets of a suspected criminal nationally, despite them being charged with only a state-based offence.
The states could also divide proceeds when a kingpin has been charged with a federal offence but has assets in multiple states.
The scheme will be discussed at the Law Crime and Community Safety Council meeting in Canberra in November.
Mr Keenan said the scheme would prevent criminals from exploiting gaps in the law to reinvest the profits of their illegal enterprises.
"We cannot allow criminals to exploit our state and territory laws to create safe havens for ill-gotten gains.
"We are serious about tackling bikie gangs, the misery they peddle, especially the cross-border evil they are spreading across our nation with the insidious ice trade.
"Such a scheme will undermine the business models of criminal bikie gangs and stop them reinvesting their illegitimate profits into illicit markets that continuously exploit the safety of our communities."
