Five Eyes law enforcement agencies have dismantled 15 major international money laundering syndicates through coordinated investigations; stripping criminals of millions of dollars of illicit profits and disrupting their ability to reinvest in further crimes.
Intelligence sharing and joint action through the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group (FELEG) in the past decade has resulted in significant asset confiscations, arrests, and the disruption of criminal networks operating across multiple countries.
These syndicates were funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit funds across borders, both for their own operations and on behalf of other organised crime groups.
Joint efforts have also strengthened the intelligence picture on dozens of additional money laundering networks, creating earlier opportunities to intervene and disrupt.
Criminal networks make money from a variety of illegal activities, including the trafficking of illicit commodities, cybercrime, child sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
The groups and offenders involved in these crimes need to access the profits of their illicit activity and often distribute them to accomplices in multiple countries without attracting the attention of authorities.
Money laundering syndicates hide and obfuscate the source of illicit funds and integrate this money into the legitimate economy. This helps criminal groups move and store their funds, which can be used for lifestyle expenses or reinvested to finance more criminal ventures.
By targeting and disrupting this key enabler of serious and organised crime, FELEG prevents criminals from profiting from the harm they cause and inhibits investment into further crimes.
In one ongoing investigation, Five Eyes partnerships have enabled co-ordinated action across three continents, targeting a network allegedly specialising in laundering bulk amounts of cash.
International cooperation is critical in combating the inherent transnational aspects of large-scale money launderers, with FELEG and law enforcement partners focused on removing illegal profits to weaken organised crime, protect economies and strengthen community safety.
These FELEG investigations have been supported by domestic and Commonwealth law enforcement agencies and financial institutions across the Five Eyes countries.
FELEG agencies have also invested in shared technology and data analytics, enhancing the ability to track illicit financial flows and respond faster to emerging threats.
Last year, the AFP and the ACIC trialled a shared data analytics platform for a project to target money laundering organisations. All FELEG agencies were able to successfully input data, which was analysed and then disseminated through this one platform.
