Perth Mint: State Government's Gold Corporation gets Austrac's gold tick following money laundering scandal
Perth Mint — the trading name of taxpayer-owned Gold Corporation — was rocked by a series of scandals including allegations of gold doping, failures to comply with money-laundering rules and troubles with artisanal miners in Papua New Guinea.
Gold Corporation was given an April 30 deadline to fix up the litany of failures identified through an enforceable undertaking signed with Austrac in late 2023.
The regulator the following month received the final progress report from an external auditor, which specified how the company had completed its remediation in compliance with the EU.
On Tuesday, AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas said it was satisfied Gold Corporation had met its obligations and released it from the enforceable undertaking.
'As a result of the EU, Gold Corporation has made an ongoing investment in its (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing) systems and controls and have made a commitment to undertake continuous review and improvement,' he said.
'Gold Corporation's previous AML/CTF program had serious failings, including failures to accurately identify the risks posed by its customers, ineffective monitoring of customer transactions, and failures to make certain reports to Austrac'
Mr Thomas added compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws 'should be a given'.
'I acknowledge Gold Corporation's cooperation and transparency during the EU process, though I would much prefer all businesses met their compliance obligations and we didn't need to take this kind of intensive action,' he said.
'Trading in gold still carries significant money laundering risks and we expect Gold Corporation to stay on top of its risk environment and take steps to update its program whenever required, including reporting suspicious transactions to AUSTRAC.'
Perth Mint has been contacted for comment.
More to come.
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