Work behind the scenes is producing financial intelligence and helping law enforcement and business to stop criminals from benefiting from serious and organised crime.
is more important now than ever before. While estimates of scale of money laundering are always fraught, the United Nations has previously estimated that the amount of money laundered globally on an annual basis is 2 per cent to 5 per cent of global GDP.
Since joining AUSTRAC five years ago, I have seen a shift in the public mood. It wasn’t long ago that money laundering was something seen in movies, where it was glorified and portrayed as a victimless crime. The inherently sensitive nature of intelligence work means that we can’t always talk publicly about our role. The work we do behind the scenes supports our law enforcement partners. In a recent seizure of more than $10 million in assets from a property in Canberra, AUSTRAC’s financial intelligence helped an international operation, led by the Australian Federal Police and FBI, to see through attempts to conceal money laundering via the purported anonymity of cryptocurrencies.
However, what often goes unseen are our constructive partnerships with industry – educating and helping build capability for their critical role on the front line in identifying criminal activity. Why are these partnerships important? Primarily because AUSTRAC is not a law enforcement agency. We can’t investigate, arrest or prosecute criminals. We do not issue or revoke licences or set their conditions, but we are a key piece of the criminal justice ecosystem.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How to work with an anxious South-East AsiaOPINION: The nations in the region crave a balanced and stable order just as Australia does. But they are also fearful of provoking Beijing.
Read more »
Kentucky coalminer goes viral over picture of him at son’s basketball gameMichael McGuire hurried after work to watch game, still wearing his uniform and covered in soot
Read more »
Mondrian painting has been hanging upside down for 75 yearsDespite the discovery, the work, titled New York City I, will continue to be displayed the wrong way up to avoid damaging it
Read more »
Audit quality plummets at Deloitte, KPMG: ASICDeloitte failed to do enough work on half the audits reviewed by the watchdog last financial year, while KPMG fell short on 48 per cent.
Read more »
Men are embracing ‘positive masculinity’ and say it’s working – despite the backlashPolicies to change the way Australian men father, work and think about women are promoting “healthy masculinity”, which advocates say will enrich men’s lives.
Read more »
‘Full responsibility’: Michaelia Cash challenges Labor on security after repatriation of families from SyriaGovernment has said repatriations were informed by national security advice, individual assessments and detailed work by security agencies
Read more »