on  15 October 2010

http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/news/money-laundering-watchdog-delivers

The agency established by the Federal Government to watch over its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing initiative appears to be already paying its way.

According to the latest annual report released by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) raised an additional $272.52 million utilising data collected by AUSTRAC covering 1,841 tax cases.

AUSTRAC chief executive John Schmidt said his organisation had reviewed more than 21 million financial transaction reports from businesses in the financial, money remittance, bullion and gambling sectors — along with almost 50,000 reports triggered by suspicious matters.

“The variety, number and seriousness of the offences AUSTRAC helped uncover underline how a robust anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime is crucial to safeguarding the community — and Australia’s financial system — against crime,” he said.