Financial intelligence from Fintel Alliance enables law enforcement to close in on criminals who may be hiding in plain sight, through a unique multi-agency approach.

Discover how our Crypto Taskforce has strengthened crypto ATM provider’s enhanced customer due diligence processes to help combat serious crime.

In 2021, at the height of the COVID19 lockdowns, AUSTRAC detected a pattern no one could ignore – an unusually high volume of cash deposits flowing into ATMs across Melbourne in the dead of night. What emerged would become Operation Taipan, one of Australia’s most significant money laundering operations at the time. 

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. 

Learn how your reporting helped lead to $22 million in asset seizures.

If you’re among the tranche 2 sectors coming under AML/CTF laws, these are for you.

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. 

Crown case highlights board and senior management’s role in ensuring Part A Programs identify, mitigate and manage risk

The AUSTRAC typologies and case studies report 2009 is the third in a series of reports AUSTRAC has produced to assist industry to fulfil its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations.

The 42 case studies within this report illustrate how legitimate businesses and financial channels have been misused for money laundering and other crimes such as drug importation and trafficking, tax evasion and credit card fraud. The report also highlights many 'red flag' indicators - examples of suspicious customer behaviour that may suggest illicit activities.