Summary
AUSTRAC helped in an investigation into a criminal syndicate importing firearms and illicit drugs into Australia from the United States. Through transaction reporting by banks and remitters, AUSTRAC’s financial intelligence team was able to help identify and link the suspects to the crime. An Australian was convicted and a supply route for illegal firearms and drugs between Tennessee and Sydney was closed.
What to look out for
- Multiple International Funds Transfer Instructions (IFTIs) just below the reportable A$10,000 threshold.
- Individuals transferring funds internationally using different branches of a remittance service provider (money transfer business) in nearby suburbs.
- Individuals transferring funds internationally to recipients with different last names and listing the payment reason as ‘gift’ or ‘family support’.
The crime
The investigation centred on a known Australian crime syndicate which used a remittance service provider (money transfer provider) to legally buy guns in the United States. Associates of the syndicate hid these weapons along with illicit drugs inside car engine parts to ship to Australia.
United States Customs and Border Protection discovered the drugs and weapons and arranged surveillance of the shipment with Australian law enforcement. This led to multiple arrests, extraditions, and convictions in both Australia and the US, and the closure of a supply route for illegal firearms and drugs between Tennessee and Sydney.
Penalties
The primary suspect in Australia pleaded guilty to six offences and was sentenced to 35 months in prison.
How business reporting helped
Transaction reporting by banks and remittance service providers was important to the investigation. AUSTRAC received five suspicious matter reports (SMRs) relating to two members of the syndicate. These reports included details of the main syndicate members’ use of multiple accounts and aliases with different financial institutions.
The IFTIs sent by syndicate members to the same recipients in Tennessee were used to identify associates in the US and showed that syndicate members sent approximately A$51,000 to purchase weapons.
The reports also linked the primary suspect and another associate to involvement in illicit activity such as card skimming and lodging fraudulent skimming claims.
AUSTRAC’s role
AUSTRAC’s financial intelligence was crucial to identify the people receiving funds in the US and in linking the suspects involved in the syndicate to their aliases.
AUSTRAC helped match the payments to the US to the consignments imported into Australia, confirming who was involved and linking the travel of key suspects to the United States to the crime.
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