Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing

• AIC research project

Description

This project aims monitor anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing trends and issues.

Bulk cash smuggling survey

The Australian Institute of Criminology is conducting a survey on behalf of the Australian Government in which existing information on the use of bulk cash smuggling globally is being gathered along with information on the responses being developed by customs agencies and other regulators to deal with the problem. The introduction of extensive regulatory controls which require the reporting of large financial transactions has created an environment in which criminals who seek to engage in money laundering and financing of terrorism may try to avoid such controls through the reliance on the smuggling of bulk currency across jurisdictional borders. In 2003, regulators in the United States noted the propensity for terrorist organisations to use alternative financing mechanisms (including bulk cash smuggling) to move and to store illegally obtained assets. A recent United States Money Laundering Threat Assessment also identified bulk cash smuggling as one means of avoiding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing controls.

The key issues to be examined are:

• the extent of bulk cash smuggling (that is the concealment of cash in vehicles, commercial shipments, packages, luggage and on private aircraft or boats) both globally and within Australia, in terms of:
  • the number of incidents,
  • the value of currency,
  • characteristics of offenders,
  • sources of funds,
  • purpose of movement and
  • the destination of funds.
• the methodologies used by the criminals who engage in bulk cash smuggling to minimise detection and the extent to which these may have changed over time,
• the outcomes of investigations and prosecutions including the methods by which bulk cash smuggling was detected,
• the sources of the cash being smuggled,
• the relationship between bulk cash smuggling, money laundering and the financing of terrorism and
• what additional research could be undertaken in order to more fully document the scale of the bulk cash smuggling problem?

The Institute is contacting experts in bulk cash smuggling in Australia, and a number of overseas countries to assist with this project. An online survey seeks information on each of the issues noted above. The anonymous survey is being administered by the AICs consultant, Associate Professor John Walker. The questionnaire has been designed in the knowledge that this is an extremely difficult area, where there is very little existing hard data. It is hoped that the information gathered will be very useful in the Australian Goverenment's efforts to combat the bulk cash smuggling problem.

The results of the survey will be available later in 2008.

For further information contact the AICs consultant:

Associate Professor John Walker
CEO, John Walker Crime Trends Analysis
Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, University of Wollongong Email john.walker@ozemail.com.au

Related links

• Topic: Money laundering