The Victorian Court of Appeal reduced a sentence for Melbourne crime figure Tony Mokbel after it emerged his former lawyer, Nicola Gobbo, was secretly informing police. Mokbel had one conviction quashed and another reduced to a term equal to time already served; the reduced sentence concerned trafficking more than 41kg of methylamphetamine in 2006–07. The case is part of wider fallout from the "Lawyer X" scandal, which a 2020 Royal Commission called "fundamental and appalling breaches" of legal duty and may trigger further appeals.
Court Reduces Sentence for Tony Mokbel After 'Lawyer X' Informant Revelations
The Victorian Court of Appeal reduced a sentence for Melbourne crime figure Tony Mokbel after it emerged his former lawyer, Nicola Gobbo, was secretly informing police. Mokbel had one conviction quashed and another reduced to a term equal to time already served; the reduced sentence concerned trafficking more than 41kg of methylamphetamine in 2006–07. The case is part of wider fallout from the "Lawyer X" scandal, which a 2020 Royal Commission called "fundamental and appalling breaches" of legal duty and may trigger further appeals.
12:22, 06.11.2025Society
Victorian Court trims jail term for Melbourne crime figure amid Lawyer X fallout
Tony Mokbel, a central figure in Melbourne's notorious gangland wars, has had a prison term reduced after revelations that his former defence lawyer was secretly acting as a police informant.
Mokbel was originally sentenced in 2012 to a combined 30-year term after pleading guilty to running an extensive drug syndicate. The syndicate, often referred to as "The Company", was linked to a wave of violence across Melbourne that left dozens dead and inspired the popular TV series Underbelly.
It later emerged that his high-profile lawyer, Nicola Gobbo (also known as "Lawyer X" or Informer 3838), had been providing information to police while representing clients. That dual role prompted a 2020 Royal Commission that described her conduct as "fundamental and appalling breaches" of her professional duties.
In April this year Mokbel was released on bail after the Court of Appeal found he had a substantial prospect of successfully challenging some convictions because he may not have pleaded guilty had he known of Gobbo's covert cooperation with police.
On Thursday the Victorian Court of Appeal addressed a third count against Mokbel relating to the trafficking of more than 41 kilograms of methylamphetamine between 2006 and 2007. While the court rejected his challenge to that particular conviction, it reduced the sentence for the count from 20 years to 13 years, seven months and 15 days — a term equal to the time Mokbel has already served.
The judges described Mokbel's offending as "very grave" but said "unusual circumstances" — including his status as a first-time drug offender and a serious injury sustained in custody — informed the decision to reduce his sentence.
The Court of Appeal has already quashed one of Mokbel's convictions and ordered a possible retrial on another matter. Mokbel remains on bail pending any further proceedings.
The legal fallout from the Gobbo revelations is far-reaching. Prosecutors warned in 2019 that 22 people might have grounds to seek appeals, and Gobbo has said information she provided led to the arrest and charging of more than 300 individuals. Victoria Police spent years and substantial public funds defending the secrecy of her role, arguing disclosure could have endangered her life.
Why it matters: The case underscores profound tensions between police tactics and defendants' rights, and it may prompt additional appeals and retrials as courts continue to untangle convictions shaped — at least in part — by an undercover relationship between counsel and law enforcement.