Latest news with #AUSTRAC
Sky News AU
4 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
AUSTRAC broadens scope of anti-money laundering crackdown to target billions of dollars of drug money investment
Australia's financial crimes agency is cracking down on the billions of dollars of drug money laundered throughout the economy as it broadens the scope of its interrogations. Join to watch the full interview behind the crackdown on Business Weekend from 11am AEST. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) on Thursday revealed it is looking at how real estate agents, lawyers, conveyancers, accountants and other professions can prevent money laundering. It marks a shift for AUSTRAC which typically looks into the finance sector. 'AUSTRAC will look at risk and behaviour at an industry and sector level rather than focussing solely on individual entities,' AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said. The department's deputy chief executive Katie Miller joined Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood where the question of how Australian criminals were laundering drug money arose. 'One number that rolls in my head … is the consumption of, for example, cocaine (and) illicit drugs in Australia is around $14 billion worth per year,' Greenwood said. 'That money has to be laundered because much of it is in cash. Same thing would go for the illegal tobacco trade. 'This is all money that becomes much more difficult to launder as a result of the actions that you will take against the gate keepers to much of the cash that might otherwise engage or find its way to legitimate business.' Ms Miller said the financial crimes agency had broadened the scope of its concern to further crackdown on money laundering practices. 'This is about trying to close those gaps that money launderers can exploit,' she said on Business Weekend. 'Money laundering is organised crime. They look for every opportunity where they can hide their money (and) where they transfer their money. 'This is a constant game of just trying to fill those gaps, lift up the standards so that we just make it harder for criminals to hide the illicit proceeds of their crime.' Greenwood on Thursday said the new efforts by AUSTRAC puts pressure on professionals, such as lawyers and real estate agents, to know where their clients' money is coming from. They will need to have proof of where the money originates before spending large sums of cash into something like property. 'A lot of the money that comes through the cocaine trail ends up in houses in very affluent suburbs in Australia,' Greenwood said. Ms Miller said by expanding the scope of AUSTRAC's view, it was cracking down on criminals that use professional services to access the financial sector. The agency will particularly focusing on cash-heavy businesses and crypto ATMs, which AUSTRAC previously revealed it was cracking down on. 'We're still seeing very high risks of money laundering in that sector and the industry does need to lift its standards and start managing those risks a lot better than is currently happening,' Ms Miller said. AUSTRAC in the past fined Westpac $1.3b, Commonwealth Bank $700m and is poised to fine Star Entertainment Group about $300m for money laundering practices.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australian regulator orders external audit of Western Union's local unit
(Reuters) -Australia's financial crime watchdog ordered an external audit of Western Union Financial Services' local unit, after raising concerns over the money remitter's compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) rules. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said on Thursday core anti-money laundering issues such as poor customer due diligence, delayed or non-reporting of suspicious matters and non-compliant international funds transfer instruction reporting were among its concerns. While Western Union has self-disclosed issues with its systems and resorted to remedial action, AUSTRAC, however, is still not satisfied that the company is meeting its AML/CTF obligations. "The recurrence of these issues raises concerns about the effectiveness of Western Union's AML/CTF program and internal processes, which is why we are taking this action," said AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas. Thomas adds that the risk for money laundering is high among businesses providing international fund transfers, with the remittance sector being particularly vulnerable to criminal exploitation. The external auditor's report to the regulator will provide information which will aid Western Union to meet its compliance obligations in a better manner, the watchdog said, adding that the report will also state if further regulatory action was required. "AUSTRAC will then assess if further regulatory action is appropriate," Thomas said. Western Union Financial Services Australia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australian authorities say top crypto ATM users are scam victims and money mules — most transactions from victims or mules forced to deposit money into the machines
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Australian financial watchdog AUSTRAC, or Australian Transactions Reports and Analysis Centre, said that 'scam victims, money mules, and suspected offenders' are the top users of crypto ATMs in the country. According to the agency's press release, its Cryptocurrency Taskforce monitored the biggest crypto ATM transactions in each state and believed that many of these are linked to scams. Unfortunately, most of these transactions were related to victims or mules who were forced to deposit the money into the machines. 'We suspected that a large volume of crypto ATM transactions were probably illicit, but disturbingly, our law enforcement partners found that almost all the transactions we referred involved victims rather than criminals,' said AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas. 'We came across a woman in her 70s who had deposited more than AU$430,000 (approximately US$280,000) into crypto ATMs after falling victim to romance and investment scams. Tragically, she has no way of recovering that life-changing amount of money.' Unfortunately, the authorities also identified another victim around the same age who lost more than AU$200,000 (almost US$130,000). She thought she was depositing the amount to a legitimate trading firm as part of an investment, but instead lost it all through the crypto ATM. Fraud and scams like these have been going on for several decades now, so traditional financial institutions now have several safeguards in place to help protect customers against them. However, since cryptocurrency is relatively new, it still hasn't developed safeguards against its illicit use. Aside from that, the inherent decentralized nature of this technology means that it's hard for nations to enforce rules on its use. Crypto ATMs are making it easier for users to convert their cash into cryptocurrency. But because it's easy to use and looks similar to the usual ATMs that many people are used to, it's also making it easier to scam those who aren't tech savvy, thinking that they're simply depositing money into a bank account. Although it's not impossible, it's insanely difficult to recover the scammed money. Even though transactions can be easily tracked, the anonymity of wallets makes it difficult to determine who owns them. Aside from that, the victims have to go through legal means to have the stolen cash returned. And even though a court might order the funds returned, the money must be parked on an exchange that recognizes the law of the state that issues the order. The increasing number of incidents like this, combined with the easy availability of crypto ATMs, suggests that the government must respond sooner or later. The Australian government said that it's 'coordinating a national prevention and education campaign', especially as many people are still likely not knowledgeable about online scams and cryptocurrencies. In the meantime, we'll have to be vigilant against scams like this and warn the people around us to be wary when someone asks them to deposit any amount of money in a crypto ATM — especially if they don't use cryptocurrencies in the first place. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
The Age
29-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
Losing the Lambo a bigger threat than jail: crims feel financial sting
The assets end up with the Australian Financial Security Authority. Last financial year, the value of confiscated assets jumped by a third to $586 million with the proceeds used for crime prevention programs. In many cases, the goods being confiscated by the taskforce either hold their worth or become even more valuable. This includes property but can include luxury watches or handbags made by Hermes and Louis Vuitton. In a recent case, the taskforce was able to restrain $20 million in assets from a Sydney pharmacist alleged to have defrauded the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme over a nine-year period. The assets taken include two Lamborghinis, two Ferraris, seven BMWs and a mansion. The taskforce brings together elements of the federal police, border force, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and AUSTRAC. The agencies trace, restrain and confiscate assets including a growing number of cryptocurrencies. Last week, AUSTRAC revealed a nationwide operation has found 90 scam victims and money mules who had been identified as the prolific users of cryptocurrency ATMs. The people had largely been coerced into moving money through the ATMs of which there has been an explosion around Australia. In 2019 there were 23 of the machines but AUSTRAC estimates there are now more than 1800. Over the same period, the number of ordinary cash ATMs has fallen by 19 per cent or more than 5500. AUSTRAC chief executive officer Brendan Thomas said while a large number of crytpo ATM transactions were illicit, in almost every case it had looked at the people involved were victims, rather than criminals. The agency has recently imposed minimum standards on crypto ATM providers including a $5000 limit on cash deposits and withdrawals. The federal police has also in recent years widened its understanding of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. This has included specific training and awareness of the investment class and ways that it can be traced and seized. Loading Federal police have seized about $70 million in various cryptos since 2019. While crypto was increasingly being seized, cash remains core business for criminals. Last year, a West Australian man was sentenced to 6 months jail after more than $3.6 million in cash was found in his house, heat-sealed in plastic wrapping. Jerga said while cash always had a strong attraction for organised crime, there was growing interest in crypto given the technology behind it that enabled people to hide their identities. 'We're trying to understand the big cash stockpiles that we once might have found. Are we still coming across them as frequently and, if not, why not?' he said. 'There could be a transference into crypto at an earlier phase and stage than once might have been the case. We're keeping an eye on [that] and trying to understand it better. But whether it's cash or crypto … they're both obviously still very attractive to organised crime.' The sophistication of organised crime groups and money laundering syndicates has also meant broadening their investment into commercial properties which Jerga said were of 'quite considerable value'.
Sydney Morning Herald
29-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Losing the Lambo a bigger threat than jail: crims feel financial sting
The assets end up with the Australian Financial Security Authority. Last financial year, the value of confiscated assets jumped by a third to $586 million with the proceeds used for crime prevention programs. In many cases, the goods being confiscated by the taskforce either hold their worth or become even more valuable. This includes property but can include luxury watches or handbags made by Hermes and Louis Vuitton. In a recent case, the taskforce was able to restrain $20 million in assets from a Sydney pharmacist alleged to have defrauded the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme over a nine-year period. The assets taken include two Lamborghinis, two Ferraris, seven BMWs and a mansion. The taskforce brings together elements of the federal police, border force, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and AUSTRAC. The agencies trace, restrain and confiscate assets including a growing number of cryptocurrencies. Last week, AUSTRAC revealed a nationwide operation has found 90 scam victims and money mules who had been identified as the prolific users of cryptocurrency ATMs. The people had largely been coerced into moving money through the ATMs of which there has been an explosion around Australia. In 2019 there were 23 of the machines but AUSTRAC estimates there are now more than 1800. Over the same period, the number of ordinary cash ATMs has fallen by 19 per cent or more than 5500. AUSTRAC chief executive officer Brendan Thomas said while a large number of crytpo ATM transactions were illicit, in almost every case it had looked at the people involved were victims, rather than criminals. The agency has recently imposed minimum standards on crypto ATM providers including a $5000 limit on cash deposits and withdrawals. The federal police has also in recent years widened its understanding of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. This has included specific training and awareness of the investment class and ways that it can be traced and seized. Loading Federal police have seized about $70 million in various cryptos since 2019. While crypto was increasingly being seized, cash remains core business for criminals. Last year, a West Australian man was sentenced to 6 months jail after more than $3.6 million in cash was found in his house, heat-sealed in plastic wrapping. Jerga said while cash always had a strong attraction for organised crime, there was growing interest in crypto given the technology behind it that enabled people to hide their identities. 'We're trying to understand the big cash stockpiles that we once might have found. Are we still coming across them as frequently and, if not, why not?' he said. 'There could be a transference into crypto at an earlier phase and stage than once might have been the case. We're keeping an eye on [that] and trying to understand it better. But whether it's cash or crypto … they're both obviously still very attractive to organised crime.' The sophistication of organised crime groups and money laundering syndicates has also meant broadening their investment into commercial properties which Jerga said were of 'quite considerable value'.
