Today the Federal Court of Australia has ordered Crown Melbourne and Perth (Crown) to pay a $450 million penalty for its breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act).
This order sends the clearest possible signal to the gambling and casino sectors that they must be vigilant to the risk of money laundering and terrorism financing and ensure they stop these criminals from using their services to launder the proceeds of their crimes.
AUSTRAC commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court in March 2022 following an investigation into Crown’s non-compliance with the AML/CTF Act.
Crown has admitted that it operated in contravention of the AML/CTF Act, that its failings were very serious, and Crown allowed high-risk activity to go undetected or unaddressed for many years.
Crown failed to properly monitor billions of dollars in transactions in contravention of its AML/CTF obligations, making it impossible for it to identify and disrupt suspicious activity, and to report suspicious matters to AUSTRAC and law enforcement.
Casinos are at serious risk of exploitation by criminals seeking to launder illicit funds and have a clear responsibility to help protect our financial system from these threats.
Businesses who fail to meet their obligations and systematically breach the law should know that AUSTRAC will take whatever action is necessary to ensure they comply with the AML/CTF Act.
I congratulate AUSTRAC on its investigation and ongoing dedication to fighting financial crime.
