AUSTRAC has wrapped up the community campaign aimed at creating awareness and enlightening the public about illegal money transfer dealers as well as unregistered dealers and their threats to the communities in Australia. The campaign which was concluded in December last year highlighted the risk associated with illegal money dealers as they can be used by criminals to launder money or finance terrorism. AUSTRAC staff went around the communities and registered businesses and provided links for community members to report suspicious dealers. Over 400 money transfer businesses were registered from August to November, and a lot of people including community leaders and transfer providers attended the meeting.
During the meeting, several comments and questions were raised which pointed to the significance of the campaign, the difficulty of accessing the banking system, and the development in the remittance services. AUSTRAC is currently reviewing feedbacks so as to take necessary steps; also reports of suspected dealers are being reviewed and appropriate actions will be taken in due course.
