The
The decision came after the Bergin Inquiry, heard an admission earlier this week from
The Bergin inquiry was established by the
The Inquiry was set up under Section 143 of the
Crown does an abrupt 'about face' |
While Crown had initially urged Commissioner Bergin against finding that its bank accounts had been used for money laundering, two independent reviews of its accounts suggest otherwise, forcing the Crown to reverse its position.
Lawyers for the Crown told the Bergin Inquiry that "Crown accepts that there were funds deposited into the Riverbank and Southbank accounts that has found to be indicative of 'cuckoo smurfing' – it is indicative of a form of money laundering."
"Crown accepts that an inference can be drawn that at some point in time, deposits into the
Cuckoo smurfing is a money laundering technique whereby criminals split large transactions into smaller transactions to avoid detection.
The
Crown did not review the suspicious transactions, but proceeded to open new accounts with the
Crown's failure to stop money laundering at its
ACLEI investigation |
Late last year the Morrison government referred allegations to the ACLEI following information published by mainstream media including The Age,
Links to the |
Leaked emails also suggested that Australian visa and consulate officials in
What happens next?
It is entirely possible that the findings of these investigations could be handed to police who may choose to investigate further and prosecute individuals involved.
Crown has a 99-year licence to operate the casino. If this licence is revoked then it could be taken over by another operator, or the facility could be repurposed. For now, its future remains uncertain.
Commonwealth laws against money laundering and terrorism financing |
The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) seeks, among other things, to impose obligations on the financial services industry in order the reduce the ability of individuals and groups to use banking and financial services to engage in criminal activity.
The Act prescribes a range of procedures which financial services companies are required to follow to achieve this objective; from rules relating to the identification of customers, to disclosure obligations, ongoing due diligence, reporting obligations and the keeping of records.
It also contains a range of provisions relating to the administration of the rules set down by the Act; including the function, composition and powers of the regulatory body AUSTRAC.
The laws contained in the Act are enforceable a range of criminal offences – which are contained in Part 12. These offences are:
- Section 136: Producing false or misleading information (maximum penalty 10 years in prison),
- Section 137: Producing false or misleading documents (max penalty 10 years),
- Section 138: Producing false documents (max penalty 10 years),
- Section 139: Providing a designated service using a false customer name or customer anonymity (max penalty 2 years),
- Section 140: Receiving a designated service using a false customer name or customer anonymity (max penalty 2 years),
- Section 141: Customer commonly known by 2 or more different names – disclosure to reporting entity (max penalty 2 years),
- Section 142: Conducting transactions so as to avoid reporting requirements relating to threshold transactions (max penalty 5 years), and
- Section 143: Conducting transfers so as to avoid reporting requirements relating to cross-border movements of physical currency (max penalty 5 years).
It is important to bear in mind that the prosecution must prove each element (or ingredient) of the charged offence beyond reasonable doubt before a person can be found guilty.
The Act also prescribes a range of civil penalties which apply to the contravention of its provisions. These are contained in Division 2 of Part 15 (sections 174 to 183).
And Division 3 of Part 15 (sections 184 to 189) empowers enforcement bodies to exercise their discretion to issue infringement notices for a range of breaches. These sections are normally applied in relation to less serious breaches of the Act.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
Ms
Sydney Criminal Lawyers
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