The financial crimes regulator has launched an investigation into Perth Mint, Australia’s biggest gold and silver refiner, over what it has described as compliance concerns, and ordered the appointment of an external auditor under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.

The AUSTRAC investigation into Gold Corporation, which trades as Perth Mint and is owned by the West Australian government, comes after a series of reports in The Australian Financial Review into a tainted gold scandal.