The alleged ringleader of a money laundering syndicate owns a $10 million house outright and poses a risk of fleeing the country on a private jet, prosecutors say.

Federal Police allege 37-year-old Zhuo Chen, one of the co-founders of the Changjiang Currency Exchange, pocketed millions of illegally acquired funds and used other family members’ bank accounts to hide transactions.

Last week, seven people were arrested after officers swooped on Changjiang’s premises around the country. Police alleged the business helped criminals launder almost $230 million over the past three years.

On Thursday, prosecutors told the Melbourne Magistrates Court the currency exchange transferred more than $10 billion over the three-year period, of which about 2 per cent was illegitimate.

Prosecutors revealed some of the inner workings of the alleged crime syndicate, as they fought Mr Chen’s bid to be released on bail, arguing he could interfere with witnesses and posed a flight risk.

However Magistrate Malcolm Thomas decided to grant bail, after Mr Chen’s parents offered to put their $1.3 million house up as a surety and he agreed to conditions which effectively restricted him to home detention and monitoring of his phone and internet activity.

Defence flags lengthy ‘monster trial’

AFP Detective Senior Constable Thomas Martin said Mr Chen and his wife Jie Lu received 30 per cent of Changjiang’s profits, and that $6 million had been transferred from the company to accounts controlled by their family.

Prosecutors said Mr Chen and Ms Lu lived in a $10 million home in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn, which they owned outright.

Senior Constable Martin said Mr Chen had a $100,000 line of credit with a private jet company, although the officer conceded the company had since agreed to cease dealings with Mr Chen and other co-accused.

During evidence, the officer said Changjiang was involved in “three interrelated conspiracies”. He said there were thousands of hours of covert recordings which captured alleged illegal activity by Mr Chen, including conversations with other crime figures.

Defence barrister Dermot Dann said his client would be pleading not guilty, and flagged a lengthy court battle ahead.

“You’re looking at a monster trial, and we say a monster delay,” he said.

Accused allegedly received cut of ‘pig-butchering’ scam

Senior Constable Martin said Mr Chen signed a contract with an organised crime group, enabling him to receive a 10 per cent cut of money gained by an online scam, known as “pig butchering”.

Pig butchering, also known as romance scams, involves criminals befriending victims and stealing money invested in online trading platforms, including cryptocurrency.

The AFP officer said Mr Chen was captured on a phone recording saying: “We f***ing accepted about $100 million, right?”

Mr Chen is alleged to have been recorded talking about destroying evidence and in another call he is alleged to have told an associate: “We can meet up again to get our story straight”.

Investigators also hold concerns that Mr Chen could have access to millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts. They also alleged he had used stolen money to purchase blocks of land.

Three other alleged syndicate members, including Mr Chen’s wife Jie Lu, were earlier granted bail on Thursday having spent a week in custody since the police raids.

They included Jing Zhu, 35, and Jin Wang, 33, who prosecutors described as the general manager of Changjiang.

They were supported in court by about 15 others, some of whom tried to shield the women from being filmed by camera crews outside the building. Supporters of Mr Chen burst into applause after the magistrate announced his decision to grant bail.