Serious Financial Crime in Australia 2017

The Serious Financial Crime in Australia 2017 report provides a national picture of serious financial crime currently impacting the Australian community. The report draws on the work of Serious Financial Crime Taskforce agencies, as well as intelligence and operational data held by a broad range of law enforcement, regulatory and government agencies.

The report is the first of its kind and focuses on the ‘enablers’ and ‘markets’ of financial crime in Australia. It informs government partners, the wider intelligence community and members of the general public of the threats posed by financial crime in Australia, and where possible, how to mitigate the risks.

The 2017 report has identified the nine key enablers of financial crime in Australia as:

money laundering
technology
identity crime
offshore service providers
illegal phoenix activity
abusive use of trusts
high value commodities
alternative banking services.

The report explores existing and emerging financial crime threats affecting the Australian community and our national interests.

[Extract ..]
SERIOUS FINANCIAL CRIME
THEME SUMMARY

The ACIC has identified five key elements of financial crime:

- cybercrime
- investment and financial market fraud
- revenue and taxation fraud
- superannuation fraud
- card fraud.

Financial crimes are diverse in nature and scale, and in the level of harm they cause. The modern globalised economy and advances in technology create new opportunities for organised crime
to exploit vulnerabilities for illicit profit. The expansion of serious and organised crime into the financial sector poses a significant risk to the integrity of the Australian economy, financial markets, regulatory frameworks and revenue collection.

This risk is particularly salient in the current economic environment, where damage to financial markets, government revenue base and the savings of private individuals can have far-reaching implications.

Conservative estimates put the cost of organised fraud to the Australian economy at
A$6.3 billion between 2013 and 2014—including revenue and tax evasion, superannuation
fraud, card and financial transaction fraud.

The intermingling of licit and illicit financial transactions makes it difficult to fully assess the extent of financial crime in Australia.

The complexity and potential scale of financial crime poses an ongoing challenge not only to law enforcement but also to regulators.