AUSTRAC sets sights on suburban money dealers funding criminals

Australia’s anti-money laundering regulator has set its sights on unregistered money transfer dealers who are at risk of being exploited by criminal organisations.

AUSTRAC has launched a community campaign to raise awareness of the risks and potential penalties for those who are not registered.

Registered businesses reported $60 billion from 17.3 million transactions in the past year but there are those who are transferring money illegally.

AUSTRAC CEO Nicole Rose tells Ross Greenwood they want to educate people who may not be aware of the illegal activity.

“These people aren’t necessarily doing the wrong thing, they may just be trying to do a favour to their community, family and friends, to get money home from the country they come from.

“And they can be used unwittingly, sometimes, by criminal enterprise for laundering money, for terrorism financing… and they may not even know about it.”

Click PLAY to hear the full interview