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The directors of a privately-owned earthmoving and haulage company have faced court today over their alleged part in a million-dollar gold theft in Western Australia's Goldfields.
Key points:
- Five people have been charged over the alleged theft
- Police claim 8,465 tonnes of gold-bearing ore was stolen, with an estimated value of $1.18 million
- The ore was being processed at the Greenfields Mill, located 3km east of the Coolgardie town site
Russell Wilson Holden, 49, and Simon Leslie Gash, 55, faced the Kalgoorlie Magistrate's Court, where lawyers for both men indicated they would each plead not guilty to the charge of money laundering from proceeds of a major offence.
Five people have been charged so far over the alleged theft of 8,465 tonnes of gold-bearing ore — estimated to be worth $1.18 million — from the Greenfields Mill in Coolgardie.
Mr Holden and Mr Gash, who are both listed as directors of KBD Haulage Pty Ltd, successfully applied to have their bail conditions altered.
The court was told they were reporting to Kalgoorlie Police Station on Mondays and Fridays, but those conditions have now been removed as their lawyers argued they were both required to be on mine sites for work.
The pair have already surrendered their passports and were required to increase their surety from $100,000 to $200,000, which they will forfeit if they fail to appear in court.
Both men are due to reappear in court on April 19.
The police prosecutor said the brief of evidence which will be provided to the defence lawyers is more than 400 pages.
Co-accused appears in court
Meanwhile, 31-year-old co-accused Morgan Whitney Dombroski, of Boulder, also appeared in the Kalgoorlie Magistrate's Court today on a charge of possessing stolen or unlawfully obtained property.
The court heard she allegedly received part of the proceeds, which was around $5,000.
Her lawyer, Carmel McKenzie, indicated she would plead not guilty.
Ms Dombroski is due back in court on April 19 but her matter will likely be headed for the District Court.
"This is intrinsically linked [to the other co-accused's matters] and should go up to the higher jurisdiction," the police prosecutor told the court.
Former mill boss to fight charges
Earlier this month, the former long-serving general manager of FMR Investments, Patrick Rhyan Keogh, pleaded not guilty to stealing as a servant.
Mr Keogh was in the role for 12 years, where he oversaw the operation of the Greenfields Mill and the Gordon Sirdar gold mine near Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
The 40-year-old from East Fremantle is due back in Perth Magistrate's Court on April 27.
The other co-accused, 73-year-old Geographe man Christopher Robert Burns, is yet to enter a plea to a charge of stealing as a servant and will face the Kalgoorlie Magistrate's Court via video link from Busselton on March 29.