Alleged Fraudster Outsmarts Two of Australia's Biggest Banks

January 19, 2026 — 5:00am You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. In October 2021, Andrew W Hu, a relationship manager at Commonwealth Bank, started receiving business loan referrals from an associate. Rather than applying for the loans through official channels, the associate, Bing “Michael” Li, sent the documents directly to Hu via email or WhatsApp. Hu, instead of submitting the applications himself, allegedly forwarded the paperwork to two colleagues in his team. The applications, seeking loans for companies directed by Li and his partner, Zhouyao “Yumi” Chen, were complete with company tax returns and financial statements. Hu would not submit the applications himself, but if any other documents were required, he would deal with the applicants directly. Over nine months, at least 38 loan applications linked to Hu and worth $14.9 million were approved, according to court documents obtained by this masthead. In mid-2022, Commonwealth Bank, smelling a rat, launched an investigation. Hu was sacked in August of that year after the bank identified what it suspected to be fraudulent loan applications linked to him. By then, the damage was done; the bank’s security had been compromised, its systems exploited, and it was out of pocket almost $15 million. Hu’s sacking was of little consequence. By the time he left, he had learnt the bank’s systems inside out, learnt which checks were done on loan applications, which documents were required and which algorithms were used to detect suspicious or fraudulent activity, detectives allege. Hu, Li and Chen had allegedly laid the foundations of the Penthouse Syndicate, which police believe is one of the biggest fraud and money-laundering syndicates in the country’s history. Advertisement A months-long investigation by this masthead into the syndicate has traced the origins of the group to 2019, when Hu and Li became associates. Last July, detectives arrested Li, the syndicate’s alleged head, at an apartment in Crown’s residential tower, where he and Chen rented the penthouse apartment for more than $34,000 a month. Hu, using the knowledge he gained at Commonwealth Bank, and while working as a financial planner at National Australia Bank from 2015 to 2018, allegedly became one of the syndicate’s ringleaders. Loading Last month, financial crimes squad detectives working under Strike Force Myddleton charged Hu with facilitating $105 million worth of mortgage and business loan fraud for the syndicate, which has amassed a luxury property empire across Sydney with the help of a network of allegedly corrupt bankers, mortgage brokers, solicitors and real estate agents. Hu has been charged with 89 offences related to the Commonwealth Bank business loans and $90 million worth of allegedly fraudulent NAB mortgage and business loans. Hu, a licensed mortgage broker until shortly before his arrest, was also charged over two unsuccessful loan applications worth $7.2 million. Advertisement Police believe the Penthouse Syndicate has defrauded the country’s major banks and other financiers of more than $250 million and that it has inflated property prices in some of Sydney’s most sought-after suburbs by purchasing overvalued homes and pocketing millions through murky back-door contracts beyond the visibility of lenders unwittingly handing over money they are unlikely to recover. Detectives allege Hu, who was born Yecheng Hu, directed the activities of several allegedly corrupt mortgage brokers and bankers on the group’s payroll, including former NAB employee Timotius Donny Sungkar, who was in November charged with facilitating almost $10 million worth of business loan fraud for the syndicate while he worked at the bank’s Bankstown business centre. While none of the 89 offences Hu has been charged with relate to his time at NAB, this masthead can reveal the 34-year-old in February last year received accreditation from the bank to directly submit loan applications through a mortgage broker group, despite Commonwealth Bank flagging Hu’s dismissal over the allegedly fraudulent business loans with banking sector regulators and the Australian Banking Association. An online ABA service allows banks to check the employment history of prospective employees with other financial institutions, including if they have been the subject of misconduct investigations or disciplinary action. NAB did not answer questions about what background checks were done before Hu was accredited. Advertisement Hu allegedly rotated the brokers and bankers involved in the loans, including several other NAB employees under investigation, to avoid attracting suspicion and he vetted fraudulent financial documents police say were used to secure business and home loans. Li allegedly paid Hu – known within the syndicate as “Manager Yao” – up to $100,000 for each successful loan application he facilitated. The investigation into the Penthouse Syndicate has brought increased scrutiny to the banking sector and raised questions about reform of the industry since the scathing royal commission into the conduct of the country’s finance giants. To fly under the radar, Hu allegedly directed other mortgage brokers to submit home loan applications with NAB. “I never use my broker number to do these deals,” Hu allegedly told an associate in a phone call intercepted by detectives, according to court documents. The bankers and brokers allegedly working under Hu’s direction were paid in cash to avoid leaving a trail for police to follow. Advertisement “It’s all cash – they can’t find any of it,” Hu allegedly told an associate. “No transfers. No, no, no. Trust me. No.” Like other alleged syndicate members, Hu has lived lavishly, enjoying the spoils of what police allege are his ill gotten gains as the group’s alleged frauds have grown to hundreds of millions of dollars. In March 2021, while he was still employed at Commonwealth Bank, Hu purchased a $1.5 million townhouse in Dundas Valley, in Sydney’s north-west. In late 2023, Hu and two business partners opened Myst nightclub, which operates within Home the Venue in Darling Harbour. The club became a meeting place for alleged syndicate members, including Hu and Li, who visited the venue several times. Hu’s business partners are not accused of any wrongdoing or involvement with the Penthouse Syndicate. According to court documents, the alleged Commonwealth Bank frauds Hu has been charged over formed the basis of the syndicate’s operating model used to allegedly fleece NAB of more than $150 million in the years since. The funds secured from the loans would prove valuable capital, allegedly used in the syndicate’s later frauds, which became more sophisticated as the group grew to dozens of members. Commonwealth Bank dismissed the employees who allegedly submitted the loan applications for Hu around the same time he was sacked. Advertisement In the months after Hu left the bank, the syndicate allegedly turned its attention to a scheme involving non-existent luxury cars that would be its undoing. In January 2024, Strike Force Myddleton was established to investigate the $10 million scheme, and slowly but surely, Hu and Li’s empire started to crumble as detectives allegedly unravelled a web of local and foreign bank accounts, private companies, properties and fraudulent documents. “Manager Yao, let me remind you again that no one should tell anyone about our work,” Li allegedly told Hu in a phone call police intercepted last May, according to court documents. “Don’t tell anyone. Protect you, protect me, protect everyone. Just keep quiet and make a fortune.” During Hu’s failed bid for bail the day after his arrest, Burwood Local Court heard the baby-faced 34-year-old – still wearing the white hoodie he was cuffed in – had access to large amounts of money that was still unaccounted for, fraudulent documentation and significant ties to China, where detectives feared he would flee if released. Advertisement As his barrister argued for his release, Hu’s mother and stepfather were arrested and charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime after allegedly transferring $205,000 from a bank account Hu shared with his mother, Xinyu Ye, to a solicitor’s trust account shortly after Hu was arrested. Ye allegedly tried to access a safe deposit box – opened days after Li was arrested last July – where detectives found $260,000 worth of jewellery and watches. The court heard Hu was a significant risk of using the large amount of cash and false documents at his disposal to flee to China, where several Penthouse Syndicate members have family ties. “They would never return to Australia,” police prosecutor Sergeant Daniel Grace told the court. Hu’s girlfriend, Cheryl Tan, who tried to shield herself from being photographed when approached by this masthead, was cautioned inside the courtroom as a suspect in the investigation into Hu’s alleged frauds. She has not been charged. The next day, Sungkar, too, was refused bail after prosecutors laid bare the extent of the syndicate’s infiltration of the banking sector. “They just need a way in and Donny’s their way in,” police prosecutor Sergeant Kai Jiang told the court. Advertisement “We are pulling out a whole entire weed. Mr Sungkar was the virus that allowed the syndicate to infiltrate the NAB system.” Hours later, Ye, who refused to report to police, was also remanded in custody. As soon as Ye was released, she allegedly told detectives who arrested her, she would return to China. Hu’s stepfather, Zhenliang Hu, was released on bail after offering a $20,000 surety and agreeing to present to a police station daily. Investigations into the extent of the Penthouse Syndicate’s alleged frauds are ongoing. Up to 20 more syndicate members are likely to be arrested as detectives trace more loans worth millions of dollars. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. More: Penthouse Syndicate investigation Crime Organised crime For subscribers Crime Courts Courts Police Commonwealth Bank National Australia Bank Riley Walter is a crime reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via Twitter or email.