Latest news with #AUSTRAC
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Pokies giant Mounties taken to civil court over anti-money laundering laws
The company that owns the most profitable pokie machine club in New South Wales is being taken to the Federal Court by the agency that investigates financial crime. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) alleges the Mount Pritchard District and Community Club group seriously and systemically violated the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial laws. Mounties, as it is commonly known, owns 10 venues — including eight that operate approximately 1,400 pokie machines, mostly across Greater Sydney and the Central Coast. Amongst them is the club with the most lucrative pokies machines in NSW, also known as Mounties, in Sydney's south-west, according to quarterly data the club supplied to the state's regulator. AUSTRAC alleges in a civil suit that Mounties failed to comply with rules designed to stop criminals from exploiting its gaming machines. It is also alleged in the civil suit that the group failed to monitor customers presenting money laundering risks in "a number of specific instances". "This is a big company with an even bigger responsibility to ensure its clubs are managing the risks that criminals can run dirty money through its gaming machines," AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas said. "Customer due diligence and transaction monitoring in a club that processes hundreds of millions of dollars a year through its poker machines, a significant amount of which is cash, is going to require a robust approach when it comes to verifying a customer's source of funds." Mounties outsources parts of its compliance program to a third party, Betsafe, which is also used by other clubs. But Mr Thomas said: "It can't outsource its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial obligations." He invoked findings from the NSW Crime Commission's Project Islington, an inquiry that found billions of dollars were laundered through the state's pokies machines at clubs and hotels in the financial year ending in 2021. The NSW government introduced a cashless gaming trial in response, though it had few active participants, and it wasn't rolled out more widely. Mounties have been contacted for comment. The matter is set to be heard by the Federal Court.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Pokies giant taken to court over money laundering gaps
A gambling giant has been taken to court over alleged compliance gaps amid concerns of criminal groups laundering money through poker machines. Mounties is one of the largest and most profitable club groups in NSW boasting about 1400 poker machines across eight venues. Financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas alleged failures in Mounties' approach to its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance obligations have left it open to criminal exploitation. "This is a big company with an even bigger responsibility to ensure its clubs are managing the risks that criminals can run dirty money through its gaming machines," he said on Wednesday. "A business operating at this scale, in a cash intensive sector, is exposed to a high degree of money laundering risk." Mr Thomas referred to a landmark 2022 NSW Crime Commission report which found that billions of the approximately $95 billion gambled in NSW poker machines in 2021/22 was likely to be "dirty money." The regulator also alleged the pokies behemoth failed to appropriately maintain its AML/CTF program by outsourcing parts of it to third-party provider Betsafe. "Relying on third-party providers doesn't absolve a business of its obligations," Mr Thomas said. The company provides compliance programs to several operators across the sector. Gaming industry whistleblower Troy Stolz, who battled three court cases while undergoing treatment for terminal cancer after leaking an internal ClubsNSW report, described AUSTRAC's actions as "massive." "This is the tip of the iceberg," he told AAP. "If the largest club in NSW can't get it right, how are the smaller clubs and pubs going to address this issue?" Mr Stolz was the head of anti-money laundering with ClubsNSW for eight years. He leaked an internal report that showed more than 90 per cent of gaming venues were not complying with money laundering regulations. Mr Stolz had also raised concerns about Mounties' compliance programs with AUSTRAC more than a decade ago. He pointed the finger at successive governments for not implementing stringent regulatory reforms, particularly singling out Premier Chris Minns, who he ran against as an independent in 2023. "Having unregulated poker machines ... is opening the door up for drug dealers to continue to prosper from their operations. "They have long been a safe vehicle to launder their proceeds of crime," Mr Stolz said. NSW is home to the largest number of poker machines in a single jurisdiction worldwide with nearly 90,000 spread across the state. Profits hit all-time highs of $8.4 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, delivering $2.3 billion in tax revenue. The figure is tipped to increase to $2.9 billion by 2027/28. In a damning June report, the state's auditor-general found regulators had failed in harm minimisation efforts for addicted gamblers. A Grattan Institute analysis estimated NSW residents lost $1288 per adult on pokies in 2023, double the average of other states. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Closing Bell: Energy surge fails to power fizzling ASX
Losses outweigh gains despite energy sector lift ASX has bled 1.03pc over last week Resource 200 index falls 1.1pc and All Ord Gold 2pc Energy rally runs out of fuel Gains in the energy sector (+1.8%) just weren't enough to offset a bruised materials sector (-1.73%) today. The ASX 200 ended down 0.49% in one of our worst weeks of trading since Liberation Day knocked us all for six back in April. After setting two new record highs last week, the Aussie bourse has shed a full 1.03% over the past five trading days. It's now 1.25% below its 52-week average high. Weakness in gold stocks was the core driver of losses in resource stocks, but there was no support to be found in our top banks either – the banks index is down 0.5% today, while the All Ords Gold shed a full 2%. Woodside (ASX:WDS) was the top gainer for energy, adding 3.72% on improving oil prices. Santos (ASX:STO) also lifted 1% with Ampol (ASX:ALD) close behind, ticking up 0.92%. Only NexGen Energy (ASX:NXG) stood out amongst the midcaps, climbing 4.4% with an honourable mention from Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL). The uranium stock added 0.84%. AUSTRAC satisfied with NAB's financial crimes compliance The financial crimes watchdog has given NAB a pat on the back, finalising an Enforceable Undertaking with National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) after it satisfied its obligations under the agreement. The EU was originally enforced over compliance with money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. AUSTRAC was unhappy with NAB's customer identification procedures and related compliance efforts. AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said NAB had demonstrated a commitment to ongoing compliance and to tackling the risks and harms posed by serious and organised crime. 'The closure of this EU reflects the progress NAB has made but it still doesn't give the business a clean bill of health,' he said. 'The EU set NAB on the right path, but compliance is not a one off task – it requires ongoing, incremental change. AUSTRAC expects NAB to continue to improve its systems and processes.' NAB CEO Andrew Irvine celebrated the finalisation of the EU. 'Through a transparent and constructive process with AUSTRAC and the external auditor, NAB has transformed our approach to managing financial crime,' he said. 'We remain focused on the challenges that financial crime presents to our customers and society. 'Banks play a critical role in monitoring and reporting suspicious, and potentially criminal, activity and we will continue to make investments that help to keep our customers, communities and bank safe.' Banks were already moving lower today and the good news wasn't enough to boost NAB's share price, which fell 0.45% to $37.49 a share by the end of trade. ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS Today's best performing small cap stocks: Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap MTB Mount Burgess Mining 0.007 75% 13584531 $1,702,553 ALB Albion Resources 0.115 67% 35302756 $9,103,400 MQR Marquee Resource Ltd 0.014 56% 12867369 $5,024,723 ENT Enterprise Metals 0.003 50% 906226 $2,742,635 KFM Kingfisher Mining 0.069 47% 2557630 $2,524,605 MSG Mcs Services Limited 0.007 40% 398920 $990,498 ANR Anatara Ls Ltd 0.008 33% 7475076 $1,280,302 AOA Ausmon Resorces 0.002 33% 8000000 $1,966,820 NES Nelson Resources. 0.004 33% 511999 $6,515,783 DBO Diabloresources 0.02 33% 3638231 $2,521,738 AMO Ambertech Limited 0.19 27% 428364 $14,310,717 ICE Icetana Limited 0.082 26% 1125810 $34,568,684 5EA 5Eadvanced 0.755 26% 210643 $8,822,124 CRR Critical Resources 0.005 25% 1910000 $11,080,342 JAV Javelin Minerals Ltd 0.0025 25% 40095 $12,504,450 PIL Peppermint Inv Ltd 0.0025 25% 45000 $4,602,180 ZMM Zimi Ltd 0.01 25% 1150000 $3,920,351 RMI Resource Mining Corp 0.021 24% 5398278 $12,485,707 AZ9 Asianbatterymet PLC 0.032 23% 1296210 $11,224,142 ATS Australis Oil & Gas 0.011 22% 2732794 $11,862,562 BEL Bentley Capital Ltd 0.011 22% 80000 $685,151 CVR Cavalierresources 0.29 21% 149522 $13,882,132 CHR Charger Metals 0.06 20% 695447 $3,871,013 1AI Algorae Pharma 0.006 20% 333561 $8,436,974 AMS Atomos 0.006 20% 1356848 $6,075,092 In the news… Albion Resources (ASX:ALB) has hit bonanza-grade gold in the first 12 holes drilled at the Yandal West project's Collavilla prospect, unearthing an intersection of 5m at 38.9 g/t gold within a wider hit of 11m at 20 g/t gold, from just 17 metres of depth. The results come from just a small 100m by 100m area of the Ives Find prospective granite intrusive, which offers a 4km by 750m target zone that management reckons is ripe for high-grade gold veins. Read more about the drilling program here. Mount Burgess Mining (ASX:MTB) has hit another milestone in its restructuring efforts, now poised to eliminate $4.7m in debt under a loan settlement agreement that would see creditors forgive 95% of outstanding balances. Subject to shareholder approval, MTB will settle the remaining 5% via the issue of over 86m shares and 4.6m unlisted options. Kingfisher Mining (ASX:KFM) has laid hands to a veritable smorgasbord of new projects with a land package totalling about 700 square kilometres in the Broken Hill, Cobar and Macquarie Arc regions of New South Wales. The fresh acquisitions include the Copper Blow IOCG project, multiple copper and silver-lead-zinc prospects in Broken Hill, the Wellington copper project and the Tinderly gold and base metal project. Audio-visual tech and defence comms gear specialist Ambertech (ASX:AMO) is rising on strong unaudited full year results, with half-year revenue expected to exceed $54m, up more than 18% on the first half of the financial year. AMO's EBITDA also improved 2.4% on the previous half year, which full-year revenue expected to top $100m. Icetana (ASX:ICE) achieved its strongest annual recurring revenue numbers in over four years, pulling in $1.9m as of June after a 10% quarter on quarter uptick. The company's total quarterly revenue has also grown 13% compared to the previous period at $490k. ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS Today's worst performing small cap stocks: Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap BMO Bastion Minerals 0.001 -50% 300000 $3,162,696 MIO Macarthur Minerals 0.015 -40% 47030 $4,991,638 AUK Aumake Limited 0.002 -33% 30281576 $9,070,076 BP8 Bph Global Ltd 0.002 -33% 1831399 $3,152,954 EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.001 -33% 1 $4,880,668 MTL Mantle Minerals Ltd 0.001 -33% 3333333 $9,671,169 OB1 Orbminco Limited 0.001 -33% 4961460 $5,103,852 GTE Great Western Exp. 0.016 -27% 5968099 $12,490,674 AS2 Askarimetalslimited 0.012 -25% 9447683 $6,466,731 CHM Chimeric Therapeutic 0.003 -25% 6311811 $8,060,777 DMG Dragon Mountain Gold 0.003 -25% 3163441 $1,578,687 IFG Infocusgroup Hldltd 0.016 -24% 3206378 $6,130,723 CTN Catalina Resources 0.004 -20% 22083865 $12,130,095 ROG Red Sky Energy. 0.004 -20% 2251712 $27,111,136 HRN Horizon Gold Ltd 0.485 -19% 106060 $86,903,954 AHK Ark Mines Limited 0.185 -18% 86211 $14,886,157 AAU Antilles Gold Ltd 0.005 -17% 916779 $14,274,408 FAU First Au Ltd 0.005 -17% 2310224 $12,457,748 FBR FBR Ltd 0.005 -17% 7682873 $34,136,713 SLZ Sultan Resources Ltd 0.005 -17% 142142 $1,388,819 TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.0025 -17% 514914 $30,667,149 VFX Visionflex Group Ltd 0.0025 -17% 1178 $10,103,581 AJL AJ Lucas Group 0.006 -14% 140000 $9,630,107 AM5 Antares Metals 0.006 -14% 31109 $3,603,970 M4M Macro Metals Limited 0.006 -14% 436757 $27,841,923 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) is looking to expand its Araxá rare earths and niobium project resources in Brazil. Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU) has produced a graphite concentrate from a 730t bulk ore sample collected from its Siviour deposit. Firetail Resources (ASX:FTL) has expanded its Excelsior project through staking nearby ground showing promising signs of gold. Trading Halts Asara Resources (ASX:AS1) – cap raise Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM) – cap raise Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) – pending government project approval Norfolk Metals (ASX:NFL) – cap raise Painchek (ASX:PCK) – cap raise At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Albion Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
Sky News AU
19-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
AUSTRAC broadens scope of anti-money laundering crackdown to target billions of dollars of drug money investment
Australia's financial crimes agency is cracking down on the billions of dollars of drug money laundered throughout the economy as it broadens the scope of its interrogations. Join to watch the full interview behind the crackdown on Business Weekend from 11am AEST. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) on Thursday revealed it is looking at how real estate agents, lawyers, conveyancers, accountants and other professions can prevent money laundering. It marks a shift for AUSTRAC which typically looks into the finance sector. 'AUSTRAC will look at risk and behaviour at an industry and sector level rather than focussing solely on individual entities,' AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said. The department's deputy chief executive Katie Miller joined Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood where the question of how Australian criminals were laundering drug money arose. 'One number that rolls in my head … is the consumption of, for example, cocaine (and) illicit drugs in Australia is around $14 billion worth per year,' Greenwood said. 'That money has to be laundered because much of it is in cash. Same thing would go for the illegal tobacco trade. 'This is all money that becomes much more difficult to launder as a result of the actions that you will take against the gate keepers to much of the cash that might otherwise engage or find its way to legitimate business.' Ms Miller said the financial crimes agency had broadened the scope of its concern to further crackdown on money laundering practices. 'This is about trying to close those gaps that money launderers can exploit,' she said on Business Weekend. 'Money laundering is organised crime. They look for every opportunity where they can hide their money (and) where they transfer their money. 'This is a constant game of just trying to fill those gaps, lift up the standards so that we just make it harder for criminals to hide the illicit proceeds of their crime.' Greenwood on Thursday said the new efforts by AUSTRAC puts pressure on professionals, such as lawyers and real estate agents, to know where their clients' money is coming from. They will need to have proof of where the money originates before spending large sums of cash into something like property. 'A lot of the money that comes through the cocaine trail ends up in houses in very affluent suburbs in Australia,' Greenwood said. Ms Miller said by expanding the scope of AUSTRAC's view, it was cracking down on criminals that use professional services to access the financial sector. The agency will particularly focusing on cash-heavy businesses and crypto ATMs, which AUSTRAC previously revealed it was cracking down on. 'We're still seeing very high risks of money laundering in that sector and the industry does need to lift its standards and start managing those risks a lot better than is currently happening,' Ms Miller said. AUSTRAC in the past fined Westpac $1.3b, Commonwealth Bank $700m and is poised to fine Star Entertainment Group about $300m for money laundering practices.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australian regulator orders external audit of Western Union's local unit
(Reuters) -Australia's financial crime watchdog ordered an external audit of Western Union Financial Services' local unit, after raising concerns over the money remitter's compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) rules. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said on Thursday core anti-money laundering issues such as poor customer due diligence, delayed or non-reporting of suspicious matters and non-compliant international funds transfer instruction reporting were among its concerns. While Western Union has self-disclosed issues with its systems and resorted to remedial action, AUSTRAC, however, is still not satisfied that the company is meeting its AML/CTF obligations. "The recurrence of these issues raises concerns about the effectiveness of Western Union's AML/CTF program and internal processes, which is why we are taking this action," said AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas. Thomas adds that the risk for money laundering is high among businesses providing international fund transfers, with the remittance sector being particularly vulnerable to criminal exploitation. The external auditor's report to the regulator will provide information which will aid Western Union to meet its compliance obligations in a better manner, the watchdog said, adding that the report will also state if further regulatory action was required. "AUSTRAC will then assess if further regulatory action is appropriate," Thomas said. Western Union Financial Services Australia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
