These requirements are designed to prevent money laundering or the financing of terrorist organisations by establishing an ‘audit trail’, or transaction history, which provides evidence linking criminal acts and their organisers. These audit trails can produce vital information in the detection and investigation of criminal activities.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act) regulates financial transactions in order to detect and prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Australian Government has stated that the AML/CTF Act will bring Australia into line with international standards, including those set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
’Money laundering’ is the process where criminals use financial systems to try to hide or disguise the proceeds of crime. By doing this they turn "dirty" money into "clean" laundered money, which reduces the risk of detection and confiscation by the authorities.
Criminals are less likely to engage in illegal activity if they are unable to profit from it without avoiding detection. Preventing money laundering can therefore help prevent organised crime.
Terrorism financing differs from money laundering in two ways:
These reasons highlight the importance of reporting all suspicious activity, even if the sum of money involved is relatively small.
The laws require us to:
For further information about the AML/CTF Act, you can access the links below:
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