Wheatley blames lawyer for offshore cash

Music promoter Glenn Wheatley has told a court that a lawyer approached him after
learning of his cash woes and advised him to send his money offshore.
Wheatley said the lawyer, whose name has been suppressed, first approached him at a
function where he had spoken of his money troubles and suggested he might be able to
help.
He was giving evidence at a committal hearing for the lawyer, charged with four
counts of tax fraud, in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.
The disgraced music entrepreneur said the lawyer later advised him to invest in art
or send his money offshore.
Wheatley said he had limited understanding of offshore arrangements and knew even
less about art, so he took up the offer.
He said the lawyer arranged for him to meet a man he understood was a Swiss banker
who could organise for him to send his money overseas.
Wheatley said he was ignorant of details of the scheme - which eventually landed him
in jail - and where exactly his money would be sent.
"I was kept in the dark, mercifully, on a lot of detail," he told the court.
Wheatley said he had to trust his money was going where it was intended, so he could
avoid paying tax in Australia.
"I had to take it in good faith that (the accused) was going to do the right thing
and not let it go into the ether," he said.
The lawyer is accused of helping Wheatley avoid paying a tax bill of more than
$800,000 incurred after he managed a tour by singer John Farnham and a Kostya Tszyu
boxing match.
Defence lawyer Ian Temby QC suggested his client had never advised Wheatley against
declaring his earnings.
But Wheatley replied this was implicit in the arrangement.
"I don't believe he ever said, 'Don't physically tell the tax department', but it
goes without saying," he said.
The alleged offending relates to the years 1994-1996 and 2002-2003 and resulted in
Wheatley being jailed for a minimum 15 months in 2007 for tax fraud.
Wheatley pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court to fraud-related charges and
was the first person jailed as part of the nation's largest white-collar criminal
investigation, Operation Wickenby.
He served 10 months behind bars and five months in home detention, where he was
required to wear an electronic security tag.
The hearing continues on Wednesday.
No plea has been entered at this stage.