Media releases

Fintel Alliance and AUSTRAC subject matter experts completed three intensive ‘days of action’ focused on identifying individuals suspected of purchasing explicit material. 

The analyst group consisted of seven Fintel Alliance bank members and one non-member bank. They were guided by AUSTRAC’s Child Sexual Exploitation Response Team’s (CSERT) subject matter experts and used their combined collection and analytical capabilities to conduct a joint analysis of transactional data that uncovered suspicious payments to vulnerable minors. 

AUSTRAC has ordered the appointment of an external auditor to assess whether payment platform, Airwallex Designated Business Group (Airwallex DBG), is meeting its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations, following concerns about potential non-compliance.

AUSTRAC Chief Executive Officer, Brendan Thomas, said external audits are a critical regulatory tool to assess serious compliance concerns and to protect the financial system from criminal exploitation. 

APRA and AUSTRAC have both announced actions to address weaknesses in Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s (Bendigo Bank) money laundering risk management, non‑financial risk management practices and risk culture.

It follows the findings of an independent review undertaken by Deloitte into suspected money laundering at a Bendigo Bank branch, which the bank reported to AUSTRAC. This independent review found significant deficiencies with Bendigo Bank’s approach to the identification, mitigation and management of money laundering and terrorism financing risk. 

AUSTRAC has refused to renew the registration of Yellow Sands Trading Pty Ltd, an independent remitter trading as Raiyyan Exchange. 

Raiyyan Exchange is no longer permitted to provide money transfer services in Australia.

In exercising its regulatory functions, AUSTRAC identified serious deficiencies in Raiyyan Exchange’s ability to understand, manage, and mitigate its money laundering and terrorism financing risks. 

AUSTRAC worked closely with the New South Wales Police Force in forming this view.

AUSTRAC has launched civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against two businesses – Castra Licensee Pty Ltd ACN 160 992 709 (Castra) and Princeton Securities (NSW) Pty Ltd ACN 162 219 794 (Princeton) for failing to meet their reporting obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act).

AUSTRAC alleges that neither business submitted an annual compliance report for the 2023 calendar year. 

AUSTRAC has issued a letter to the online payment platforms sector, warning businesses to tighten their controls to prevent payments for child sexual exploitation.

The warning comes after a supervisory campaign easily identified a number of customers suspected to be making payments for child sexual exploitation. 

AUSTRAC’s regulatory operations team found issues across the sector, with low suspicious matter reporting, poor transaction monitoring and clear failures to identify and manage high-risk customers.

AUSTRAC has issued Cryptolink an infringement notice of $56,340 and accepted a court-enforceable undertaking that addresses the company’s AML/CTF deficiencies. 

AUSTRAC has released reforms guidance to help current and future reporting entities comply with changes to the AML/CTF legislation.

From 1 July next year, thousands of new businesses will come under the AML/CTF regime, including real estate agents, accountants, lawyers and dealers in precious metals and stones. For current reporting entities, the new laws will come into force on 31 March 2026. 

Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Tony Burke, will seek to introduce a new power enabling the AUSTRAC CEO to restrict or prohibit certain high-risk products, services or delivery channels.

The amendment would give the AUSTRAC CEO additional options to reduce money laundering risks associated with high-risk products.

AUSTRAC CEO, Brendan Thomas, welcomes these changes and said if Parliament passes the law, AUSTRAC will be ready to use them.

“We’re still seeing an unacceptable risk of money laundering across some channels,” Mr Thomas said.

As part of National Child Protection Week, AUSTRAC is reminding financial services providers of the critical role they play in detecting child sexual exploitation for financial gain.

AUSTRAC collects and analyses suspicious matter reports shared by financial service providers, like banks, remitters, digital currency exchanges and payment platforms, and these reports form the basis of financial intelligence used to detect transactions linked to for-profit child abuse.