Jeweller - July, Edition I 2020

Defendant in Melbourne Gold Company
robbery granted bail
Magistrate Ross Maxted has granted bail to Karl Kachami, a defendant in the
$3.9 million Melbourne Gold Company robbery.
Karl Kachami, one of the defendants
in the $3.9 million robbery of Collins
Street gold dealer Melbourne Gold
Company (MGC), has been granted
bail, while fellow defendant Daniel
Ede remains in custody.
At a bail hearing on 15 June,
Kachami’s legal representative,
Philip Dunn QC, described the 27
April heist as a “comedy of errors”
and said that his client made a “very
silly decision” due to the financial
and psychological pressure of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“The planning appeared
to be sophisticated,
including the secretion of
cash and the bullion in a
very remote location”
– Ross Maxted, magistrate
He also asserted that Kachami, 48,
had fully cooperated with police by
leading them to a rural property
in Gippsland, where a significant
portion of the stolen material was
buried.
In addition, Melbourne Magistrates’
Court heard that Kachami returned
more than $340,000 which had been
stashed at his investment property
in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy.
Police allege Kachami planned
the robbery with Ede, 37, who
was an employee of MGC. During
the course of the heist, Kachami
appeared to hold Ede at gunpoint as
he emptied the business’ safes of
gold bullion, jewellery, and cash.
However, CCTV footage revealed
that the weapon was unloaded, and
police said that Ede appeared to be
guiding Kachami using his eyes and
hand movements.
Police also alleged that Ede was
seen in Gippsland in the days
following the robbery.
Dunn argued that Kachami should
be released in order to undergo
treatment for diabetes and to care
for his three young children.
While agreeing to release Kachami,
magistrate Ross Maxted rejected the
“comedy of errors” characterisation,
with The Age quoting him as
saying, “The planning appeared
to be sophisticated, including the
secretion of cash and the bullion in a
very remote location which was only
known to both of them, but which
could only be accessed on locked
private property.”
Maxted reportedly said that Kachami
was “highly intelligent” and “a man
prepared to take considerable risks
and involve, potentially, others in
them.”
Kachami was ordered to surrender
his passport, remain in Victoria,
and contact police daily. His family
provided a $550,000 surety.
Meanwhile, Maxted denied bail to
Ede on the grounds that he may
seek to recover more than $330,000
in stolen cash that remains missing.
Ede was arrested on 12 May, but
has consistently denied involvement
in the robbery. He has been charged
with perjury relating to statements
made to police after the heist’.
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the Coeur de Lion team in Australia
and Germany!
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