Released today, the Fintel Alliance Performance Report 2019-20 outlines the impact the Fintel Alliance is having on protecting the Australian financial system and community from serious and organised crime.
The Fintel Alliance is AUSTRAC's public-private partnership that brings together the financial intelligence expertise and skills of government intelligence and law enforcement agencies and Australia's largest financial institutions and businesses to deliver new, joined up solutions to combat serious and organised crime.
The Fintel Alliance is playing a key role in detecting and combatting new criminal threats related to COVID-19, while continuing to support law enforcement operations which has resulted in arrests of child exploitation related offenders, the dismantling of criminal fraud syndicates and scams targeting Australia's most vulnerable and combated Transnational Serious Organised Crime Networks.
Major achievements in the report include:
- arrests of offenders for serious crimes including the importation of child-like sex dolls, money laundering, illicit tobacco, scams, and $22 million of tax liabilities raised
- hardening the Australian border to child-sex offenders resulting in 25 detections of child exploitation material, the arrest of ten individuals for child related offending, and the rescue of children from harm
- protecting Australians from criminal networks that are trying to take advantage of COVID-19 by fraudulently claiming superannuation, government payments, and other criminal activities
- more than 250 intelligence products provided to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, helping detect and investigate a range of crimes, and
- operations covering 24 crime types - of which child sexual exploitation, environmental crime and welfare fraud were the top three.
AUSTRAC CEO Nicole Rose PSM said Fintel Alliance has proven to be a world leading capability allowing for greater collaboration, innovation and information sharing between public and private partners.
"Now in its third year, the Fintel Alliance has transformed our capability to tackle a broad range of threats to the Australian community, including terrorism financing, money laundering, drug trafficking, child exploitation, fraud, and other serious and organised crime."
"Working together, members have successfully dismantled the operations of criminal networks around the world, produced hundreds of intelligence and information reports leading to preventative actions by the private sector and arrests by law enforcement," Ms Rose said.
Chair of the Fintel Alliance Strategic Advisory Board, Roger Wilkins AO said this year also saw new and innovative technology solutions developed to further bolster industry and law enforcement capabilities in the fight against serious financial crime.
"The use of technology in law enforcement and crime prevention is developing rapidly. Accordingly, Fintel Alliance continues to innovate through the development of new technology to respond to criminal threats to Australia's financial system and the community." Mr Wilkins said.
Download the Fintel Alliance performance report 2019-20 (PDF, 3.59MB).
About AUSTRAC
AUSTRAC (the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) is the Australian Government agency responsible for detecting, deterring and disrupting criminal abuse of the financial system to protect the community from serious and organised crime.
Through strong regulation, and enhanced intelligence capabilities, AUSTRAC collects and analyses financial reports and information to generate financial intelligence.
