Bandidos bikie president and ex-CFMEU official Joel Leavitt will face court on Thursday, after allegedly contravening the terms of his bail.
Leavitt, 32, had already been charged with blackmail and failing to comply with police when he was arrested in Heidelberg this morning.
Those earlier charges on February 12 relate to allegations of blackmail committed at a business in Brooklyn on January 19, 2026, when a demand was allegedly made for the victim to pay $663,000.
Leavitt was arrested by Victoria Police’s Taskforce Hawk, established to investigate allegations of organised crime in the building industry revealed by this masthead over the course of several years.
On Wednesday, the same taskforce arrested former CFMEU boss John Setka, also for allegedly committing offences while on bail.
Leavitt will face court on two counts of contravening conditions of bail on Thursday afternoon.
Leavitt’s prosecution puts pressure on the government over its previous failure to act on repeated warnings about his CFMEU faction and its rorting of major Labor infrastructure projects.
The most recent revelations came from a report released earlier this month by corruption-busting lawyer Geoffrey Watson, SC, who has estimated that CFMEU corruption on government infrastructure projects has cost taxpayers $15 billion. The government has so far defended its response and criticised Watson over his $15 billion estimate.
Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts on email or turn on notifications in the app.
