CANBERRA, ACT, June 19 -- Australian Federal Police issued the following media release:
Editor's note:case study available via Hightail
Five Eyes law enforcement agencies havedismantled15 major international money laundering syndicates through coordinated investigations;stripping criminals of millions of dollars of illicit profits and disrupting their ability to reinvest in further crimes.
Intelligence sharing and joint action throughthe Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group(FELEG)in the past decade has resulted in significant asset confiscations, arrests,and the disruption of criminal networksoperatingacross multiple countries.
These syndicates werefunnellinghundreds of millions of dollars of illicit funds across borders, both for their own operations and on behalf of other organised crime groups.
Joint efforts have also strengthened the intelligence picture on dozens ofadditionalmoneylaundering networks, creating earlier opportunities to intervene and disrupt.
Criminalnetworksmake moneyfroma variety of illegal activities, includingthetraffickingofillicitcommodities,cybercrime, child sexualexploitationand human trafficking.
Thegroups andoffendersinvolved in these crimesneed to access theprofitsof their illicit activityandoftendistributethemtoaccomplices in multiple countries without attracting the attention of authorities.
Money laundering syndicateshideand obfuscatethe source of illicit funds and integrate thismoney into the legitimate economy.This helps criminal groups move and store their funds,whichcanbe used forlifestyleexpensesorreinvestedto financemore criminal ventures.
By targeting and disrupting this key enabler of serious and organised crime, FELEG prevents criminals from profiting from the harm they cause andinhibitsinvestment into further crimes.
In oneongoinginvestigation,Five Eyes partnershipshaveenabled co-ordinated action across three continents, targeting a network allegedly specialising in laundering bulk amounts of cash.
International cooperation is criticalin combating the inherent transnational aspects of large-scalemoneylaunderers,withFELEG and law enforcement partnersfocused onremovingillegalprofitstoweakenorganised crime, protecteconomiesand strengthencommunity safety.
TheseFELEG investigations have been supported by domestic and Commonwealth law enforcement agencies and financial institutions acrosstheFive Eyes countries.
FELEG agencieshavealsoinvested in shared technology and data analytics, enhancing the ability to track illicit financial flows and respond faster toemergingthreats.
Last year,the AFP and the ACIC trialled a shared data analytics platform for a project to target money laundering organisations.All FELEG agencies were able to successfully input data, which was analysed and thendisseminatedthrough this one platform.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
