According to the Australian Financial Review, they are drawn to Australia because it provides some of the strongest protections for individuals facing criminal charges anywhere in the world.

“This flow of money out of China has reportedly boosted demand for houses, filled universities and fueled spending on luxury goods right across the Australian economy,” it said.

It explained how Chinese fortunes could be hidden in Australia by giving the example of Su Shunhu, former deputy director of transport at the former Ministry of Railways.

Su was sentenced to life imprisonment on October 17 for taking bribes worth nearly 24.9 million yuan from three companies between 2003 and 2011.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court found Zhou Yunfu, boss of one of the companies, sent A$1.19 million (US$1.05 million) to Su’s son Su Guanlin and daughter-in-law Qian Yi in Sydney.

They used the cash to deal in property worth A$4.5million, the newspaper said.

Last week, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Australian police had agreed to assist China in extraditing corrupt Chinese officials.