A Victorian couple found guilty of enslaving a woman from India for a period of eight years have had the proceeds of the sale of their home forfeited and have been ordered to pay $140 000 in combined penalties to the Commonwealth. Mount Waverley couple
Initially charged back in 2016, the pair, 61 year old Kandasamy Kannan and 58 year old Kumunthini Kannan, had their home in Mount Waverley restrained by the Australian Federal Police – led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) under the Proceeds of Crime Act (Cth).
In 2021, the couple had been found guilty of possessing a slave and exercising powers of ownership over a slave. Kumuthini Kannan has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment and will be eligible for parole in 4 years. Kandasamy Kannan has been sentenced to a period of 6 years imprisonment and will be eligible for parole in 3 years.
Their Mount Waverley home was later sold for 1.4 million dollars and the couple’s equity of $475,000 held by the Official Trustee, was later forfeited in 2022. In 2023, the Commonwealth Attorney-General approved a payment of $485,000 to the victim who had arrived in Australia in 2007 on a tourist visa.
On 9 October 2025, the couple accepted the CACT’s application for combined pecuniary penalty orders amounting to a total of $140,000, with the woman agreeing to pay $100,000 and the man, $40,000 in addition to accrued interest and the forfeited equity.
The National Manager of the Criminal Assets Confiscation, Fraud and Corruption taskforce, Stefan Jerga has attributed the success of this case to the broad reach of the unit.
“This result highlights the unique breadth of the CACT’s work in targeting a wide range of criminal activity, including forced labour, and the importance of the Commonwealth’s Proceeds of Crime Act in preventing offenders from benefiting from their crimes,” he says
Detective Sergeant Daisie Beckensall, who leads the Human Trafficking Southern Command Team, emphasised the AFP’s role in tracking and preventing human trafficking.
“If you hold a person in domestic servitude, or commit other human trafficking offences, our investigators will work tirelessly to ensure offenders are found, put before the courts and remove victims from harm,” she says.
The AFP- led CACT brings together the resources and expertise of various agencies including the AFP, the Australian Border Force, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and AUSTRAC. These bodies trace, restrain and ultimately confiscate criminal assets which are then forfeited to the Commonwealth to be liquidated and if needed, later used for the benefit of the community.
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