A man accused of dealing with the illicit proceeds from a sophisticated worldwide scam will take the matter to trial as three others continue negotiating with prosecutors.
Jiachen Jiang, 20, will plead not guilty to a charge of engaging in prescribed conduct as part of an alleged global scam operation, his lawyer told the Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.
The Chinese national was arrested at an inner-city Sydney apartment he shared with his 20-year-old co-accused, Weizhe Huang, in October 2022.
Another charge was withdrawn and Jiang will be arraigned in the NSW District Court on October 27.
Huang's matter was adjourned four weeks to allow for further discussions with prosecutors.
He has been accused of recklessly dealing with more than $16.7 million in criminal proceeds from the scam in July 2022.
Huang remains on bail and returns to court on October 25, along with two other men who were allegedly higher up in the scheme's hierarchy.
Zimo Tang, 27, and Han Xiao, 25, remain behind bars after being denied bail, accused of dealing with criminal proceeds exceeding $10 million.
The pair were arrested in November 2022 with one-way tickets out of the country at airports in Melbourne and Sydney.
The four men have been accused of being involved in a sophisticated investment scam using dating and employment sites, and messaging platforms to gain the trust of victims who were directed to both legitimate and fraudulent foreign exchange and cryptocurrency investment platforms.
Victims' investments were maliciously manipulated to falsely show positive returns, Australian Federal Police allege.
