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The U.S. has asked Australia to extradite Ian Taylor, a business registration agent whose family set up firms used by organizations including the Islamist militant group Hezbollah, and Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel.
The Australian Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) confirmed that Taylor was “arrested in Queensland on 29 April 2026 in response to an extradition request made by the United States of America.”
“The individual is wanted to face prosecution in the US for offences related to money laundering,” an AGD spokesperson said in an email.
OCCRP reported in 2011 that New Zealand had shut down business registrations firms run by Taylor, along with his father and brother, after journalists revealed some of their controversial clients.
Operating out of Auckland, as well as jurisdictions including Vanuatu, the family registered 2,500 offshore firms. Some of them were used by crime groups like the Russian mafia, OCCRP reported. One of the companies chartered planes caught smuggling North Korean weapons in 2009, which were destined for Iran.
The AGD declined to specify what the U.S. money laundering charges were about. The U.S. State Department declined to answer questions about the case, saying in an email that it “does not comment on pending extradition requests, including whether or not one has been made.”
A lawyer for Taylor did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was first to report the extradition request for Taylor, who has done business out of his Gold Coast home selling high-end jet skis. The ABC noted that Taylor had previously denied any wrongdoing in relation to offshore firms he created, saying he was not responsible for or aware of their activities.
The ABC reported in 2020 that U.S. banks had flagged transactions related to companies set up by Taylor. Suspicious Activity Reports by banks are not evidence of wrongdoing.
