Aus Promoter Andrew McManus Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Pervert The Course Of Justice

Melbourne music promoter Andrew McManus has pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice in regards to a suitcase containing over $700,000 in cash found in a Sydney hotel in 2011. 

According to Fairfax, the 55-year-old pleaded guilty on Tuesday and could reportedly face jail time, though previous charges of participating in a criminal group and attempting to gain a financial advantage by deception by claiming the cash was his have been dropped. 

The concert promoter, who was behind iconic US outfit KISS' latest Australian tour, was one of five people arrested in the country and in the States last September following the discovery of the mysterious suitcase containing $702,000 at Hilton Hotel.

Craig Haeusler, Kings Cross lawyer Michael Croke, and pastry shop owner Zeki Atilgan were also arrested in Sydney last year, while US businessman Owen Hanson Junior was arrested in San Diego.

The international investigation, conducted by the NSW Police Force and the FBI, dates back to 2011 when Hanson ran a Advanced Peptide Solutions business with former cage fighter Sean Carolan, who was found at the hotel with the suitcase.

"It's not the proceeds of crime, it's the proceeds of Andrew McManus," McManus told police in an interview in April 2012.

"I gave someone 700 large, and you've found someone with 700 large. It's my 700 large," 

Earlier this year, McManus took to Facebook to emphatically deny the allegations. 

"I have never been bankrupt and I will fight these allegations until my last breath," he wrote in April.

McManus is scheduled to appear in Sydney's District Court this Friday where a sentencing date will be confirmed.