Australia’s anti-money laundering financial regulator AUSTRAC has decided not to go ahead with the proposed changes to the anti-money laundering regulations, satisfied that sufficient provisions to deal with the threat are already in place. In an article for the website SMSF Adviser, Katarina Taurian sheds light on the issue.
Why has AUSTRAC not stuck to its original plan
In wake of criminal abuse of the ‘self-managed’ territory, draft amendments were published by AUSTRAC in the year 2011. Such abuses included, among other things, establishment of false fund and furnishing farce member details.
AUSTRAC feels there is a high level of security already in place
AUSTRAC, however, feels that adequate alterations made to the due diligence requirements of customers has already precluded the chances of money laundering contraventions. Thus, all the changes proposed in the year 2011 can safely be put away for future discussion, if at all such need arises.
Member Verification Service
Taurian thinks that member verification service already pre-empts any chances of foul play as each member is verified by the APRA funds. Bank account certification is another brilliant addition and only tightens the security.
You can read the original article here.
AUSTRAC is a highly able body
Every week we hear something about AUSTRAC when it comes to levying penalty on or cancelling the registration of rogue operators. In the month of January, AUSTRAC had fined MoneyGram (world’s largest remitter online) a sum of $122,400. This was a month after it had cancelled the registration of Ocean Pass Finance Pty Ltd, based out of Sydney. So it is not hard to discern that the body is quite able to act when it wants to. Its decision to go back on what it had originally intended in the year 2011 shows its trust in the efficacy of management of the SMSF sector.
