A grandmother has been extradited to Australia to steal more than $ 1.6 million from her former employer.
Annie Melanie Lucas appeared in a court in Perth on Saturday after the WA police arranged to return her from the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Lucas was accused of 103 offenses after alleged abuse of business funds from a Port Kennedy contracting company for a period of six years that started almost two decades ago.
WA detectives guided the 62-year-old house after an 'extensive investigation' into the alleged violations.
The police said that Mrs Lucas abused her position within the family business by depositing countless 'business checks on her personal bank account'.
Mrs. Lucas was also responsible for using company funds to pay for 'personal accounts and services' and to deposit money from business accounts directly into her personal bank account'.
Images released by the authorities depicted that the grandmother of Perth was accompanied from luggage collection to a non-marked car through solid detectives with a normal financial crime team.
Travelers received little reason to pay attention to the alleged fugitive grandmother who wore a pink cardigan with a hood on a knitted lavy slirt.
Annie Melanie Lucas (right) would have stolen $ 1.6 million from a family business
When refusing her bid to destroy the extradition, a British judge was that Mrs. Lucas was aware that an order for her arrest had been issued by the Australian authorities When she left the country.
Mrs. Lucas will appear on Monday for a Perth -Magistraat via a Videolink, where, according to Nine News, it is expected to apply for a bail.
Mrs. Lucas was arrested by the British police on 6 September 2023 and was taken in custody by a local magistrate, before she was then released on bail.
She tried to oppose the extradition offer based on the fact that, among other things, sufficient time had passed since the alleged insult to make the extradition unjust or oppressive.
Mrs. Lucas's counsel also argued that a medical condition and an international right to family life and privacy against extradition should weigh.
Mrs. Lucas has also introduced new evidence with regard to the impact of the procedure on her mental health and the recent death of her Stiefdougher.
The British court agreed to enforce the delivery request on the basis of the fact that Mrs. Lucas was a fugitive of Australian law and that she had been aware of the order for her arrest before she left the country.
It also agreed that the seriousness of the offensive and the public interest to bring Mrs. Lucas to the court in Australia justified the extradition.
Mrs. Lucas (right) was accompanied by Australian detectives from the UK
WA Police said that the long-term research and extradition process has demonstrated its willingness to thoroughly investigate financial crimes.
'Financial crime cases are taken very seriously and are thoroughly investigated. Complex investigations often include years of work, “said a police spokesperson.
'This sends a message to the community that, regardless of the time or distance from the distance, WA Police Force researchers will not give up until they bring the person in charge to the court to face justice.
“People who commit such offenses while in a position of trust should expect the police to get on their door at any time.”
