Sydney businessman walks free

A Sydney businessman who had his money-laundering conviction quashed by the High Court has walked free after serving more than three years in jail.

Michael John Milne, of Neutral Bay, was convicted by a jury in November 2010 of money laundering and providing false income tax information to obtain a gain from the Commonwealth.

He also pleaded guilty in November 2012 to a separate charge of providing false information on income tax statements.

In that matter, he had his entire term re-sentenced to a maximum of nine-and-a-half years.

But the High Court last week acquitted Milne of money laundering and ordered his sentence be changed to reflect the two remaining convictions.

In the Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Elizabeth Fullerton re-sentenced Milne to two years, backdated to June 2013, as part of a four-and-a-half-year prison term.

Given he'd already served more than three years, she ordered the remainder of the sentence be served in the community on a bond via a reconnaissance release order.