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Anti Money Laundering

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Money Laundering Solutions for Australia

As one of the first Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) of its kind in the world, The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) regulates Australia's anti-money laundering programme.

The laws governing Australia's anti-money laundering programme are contained in the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 (FTR Act); the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Proceeds of Crime (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2002.

Australia is currently considering changes to its anti-money laundering system to ensure that it continues to model international best practice. These are expected to be published in early 2005.

AUSTRAC regulates "cash dealer" compliance with the FTR Act

A "Cash dealer' in the legislation includes, but is not limited to:

authorised deposit-taking institutions such as banks, building societies and credit unions;
managers and trustees of unit trusts;
financial institutions;
insurance companies and insurance intermediaries; and
stockbrokers.

Reporting requirements

The following transactions must be reported to AUSTRAC:

Significant cash transactions - any transaction with a cash component of $10,000 AUD or more.
International funds transfer instructions - any instruction for the transfer of funds transmitted electronically, either into, or out of, Australia.
Suspect transactions - any transaction in which the individuals, monies or circumstances of the transaction cause the cash dealer to have suspicion.

Members of the general public and those falling into the definition of cash dealer are also required to report international currency transfers to AUSTRAC - carrying, mailing or transporting cash amounts of $10,000 AUD or more into, or out of, Australia.

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Know your customer

The FTR Act also requires cash dealers to verify the identity of persons who are signatories to accounts. It should be noted that the legislation specifically prohibits accounts being opened or operated in a false name.

Australia is a member of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), an international inter-governmental body which sets standards, and develops and promotes policies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

Australia is also a member of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering and has signed and ratified the UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988.

In addition, Australia has signed and ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime of 1990.

The most recent FATF report recognised that Australia had gone a long way to implementing the recommendations but as always work continues. In line with their high standards and always ready to stay ahead of the game, AUSTRAC is set to publish new legislation to counter money laundering in 2005. These new rules are likely to further identify cross border movements of currency into and out of Australia and will almost certainly impact upon sectors that would not previously have had to report FTR's such as accountants, solicitors and casinos.

As AUSTRAC continue to revise their legislation to enhance information for locating the money trail, particularly with regard to organised crime and serious criminal offenders the reporting burden on financial institutions is likely tol increase proportionally.

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AUSTRAC Guidelines

All the latest guidelines should be checked here:� http://www.austrac.gov.au/text/guidelines/guidelines/index.htm

These links are provided as-is

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 1
Suspect Transaction Reporting

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 1 - Addendum 1
Suspect Transaction Reporting - The Use Of Cheques In Money Laundering

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 1 - Addendum 2
Suspect Transaction Reporting - Polymer Bank Notes

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 1 - Addendum 3
Suspect Transaction Reports Inadmissible in Evidence

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 1 - Addendum 4
Suspect Transaction Reports - Nostro/Vostro Accounts

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 1 - Addendum 5
Suspect Transaction Reports - Identifying Suspect Transactions by Call Centres

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 2
Significant Cash Transaction Reporting
(Formerly CTRA Guideline No. 2)

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 2A
Significant Cash Transaction Reporting - TABS, On-Course Totalisators and Bookmakers
(Formerly CTRA Guideline No. 2(A))

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 2B
Significant Cash Transactions - Exemptions and Exemption Registers
(Formerly CTRA Guideline No. 2(B))
Updated January 2002

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 2C
Significant Cash Transaction Reporting - Cash Carriers
(Formerly CTRA Guideline No. 2(C))

AUSTRAC Guideline No. 2D
Significant Cash Transaction Reporting for Bookmakers, TAB�s, Totes and Sports Betting Agencies

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Money laundering solutions for Australia & AUSTRAC compliance

Here is why STB-Detector has got all the bases covered:

Account Opening Due Diligence: Uniquely, STB-Detector is the only anti-money laundering solution with true Know Your Customer (KYC) support. The system automatically highlights where information demanded by compliance for account opening and for enhanced due diligence (EDD) is insufficient. You can record exactly what verification has been captured (such as sight of original photo ID, corporate trust paperwork), and to record when these verifications expire (or when you want to review them). This re-documentation process gives you tangible information on your client data, in addition to a manageable workflow environment from which to support your Customer Identification Programme (CIP). You are able to either feed external documentation databases to STB-Detector, or to hold documentation, including scanned images, within the STB solution itself.

Suspicious Activity Queries: STB-Detector performs two broad classes of query, Account behaviour and Account comparator. These assess account behaviour against its own history, therefore looking for "rogue" business or unusual activity against the customer profile, and perform comparisons against multiple peer groups. These types of queries also provide valuable information on the profile of client business, generating valuable Know Your Business (KYB) and Know Your Employee (KYE) information. Anomalies highlighted also include transactions which break limits, possible deliberate avoidance of limits and those which are unusual, or unusually large or potentially fraudulent.

OFAC or Other List Monitoring: Functionality within ClearGuard is designed to automatically block payments or transactions with any entry on any list that the firm may wish to monitor. The module integrates fully with any existing Swift-Alliance architecture, to provide a real-time solution to suspicious payment stopping.

Database scanning: STB-Detector may also be utilized off line whereby the existing customer database may be checked. STB-Detector can be relied on to seek out potential matches in your standing data (as opposed to in transfer data).

Risk Tracking & Clearance Centre: The workflow module in STB-Detector formalizes the investigation and tracking of all newly identified anomalies. This allows you to view decisions and see the workflow associated with the anomaly. This key area provides audit data and a secure environment from which the compliance officer, or indeed any nominated member of staff, can update key fields and analyse data in an ad-hoc or fully automated way.

For more information, please contact us or send back our Information & Feedback form.

STB-Detector is fast becoming an industry byword for tackling money laundering. STB-Detector software optimizes financial integrity reporting, controlling all associated workflow. In one solution, with one project, you can control a whole range of risks. Or you can choose to start with your key areas of exposure - a quick win - and roll out enhancements later.

STB's response to the increasing requirements for the automation of compliance and regulatory reporting includes a comprehensive solution for anti-money laundering controls. As a purpose-built solution for institutions seeking an efficient, and scaled solution for all aspects of anti-money laundering compliance, choose from the following key functions:

	Account opening due diligence and documentation control
	Suspicious activity monitoring
	Watch list monitoring
	Legal investigations reporting
	Customer database scanning
	Payment and receipt message interdiction, including OFAC processing

STB-Detector covers more areas of potential exposure, in one solution. In keeping with STB's other compliance and regulatory solutions, ease of interfacing from multiple source systems again makes STB-Detector stand out from the crowd.