January 3 2015
The head of the money laundering regulator has warned he will “show no mercy” pursuing big banks acting as a “conduit” for terrorists and organised crime, as the threat of financing terrorism spreads.
Chief executive of Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Paul Jevtovic, a former police commissioner appointed just over a year ago, received $20 million last year as part of the federal government’s counter-terrorism package and is putting business on notice they are stepping up enforcement activity, evidenced by their unprecedented legal action against listed company Tabcorp which faces $17 million in fines.
The federal government is reviewing the money laundering laws and Mr Jevtovic is pushing to overhaul the regime so that it provides regulatory incentives for the private sector by lowering their compliance burden or allows self-assessment, rather than just penalties. AUSTRAC receives up to 100 million transaction reports from 14,000 reporting entities each year.