Attorney-General’s blistering attack over money laundering laws

Mark Dreyfus has accused those opposing tough new money laundering laws of ‘aiding and abetting’ criminals.

Solicitors, lawyers and accountants pushing back against tough new money laundering laws risk “aiding and abetting” drug traffickers and terrorists.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has launched a blistering attack on opposition to proposed new laws that would crack down on Australia’s $60 billion black market.

“Let me be very clear. Opposing these reforms means aiding and abetting the criminal abuse of our financial system by drug traffickers, people smugglers, terrorists and those who exploit and abuse children,” he will say in a National Press Club speech in Canberra on Tuesday.

“Money laundering is not a victimless crime.”

Mr Dreyfus will be speaking alongside recently appointed Austrac chief executive Brendan Thomas.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Austrac CEO Brendan Thomas.

Austrac was expected to publish a major report into money laundering on Tuesday, amid a push for Australia to adopt the new laws which were first flagged in 2007.

Australia is one of only five countries, which also includes Haiti and Madagascar, that have yet to sign up to “tranche 2” money laundering laws which have been standard in almost 200 countries for more than a decade.

The laws would require solicitors, real estate agents and accountants to report anyone they suspected of trying to invest dodgy cash.

Australia’s gold-plated property market has been the perfect place for criminals to hide their illegal profits in plain sight.

But suspicious transactions, such as buying a house in cash without evidence of a recent sale, would become a red flag.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia has claimed the proposed laws would add $100,000 a year to compliance costs.

Convicted murderer George Marrogi was able to control 60 properties worth $47 million before his syndicate was smashed last year.

Convicted murderer George Marrogi. Picture: Supplied

Police have increasingly seized assets because some criminals see jail time as the cost of doing business as long as they have cash when they get out.

Mr Dreyfus will say that the “Albanese Government has no tolerance for corruption or illicit financing of any kind.”

“Money laundering enables crime by allowing criminals to profit from their offending. This is profit that can then be reinvested to finance future crime. And so the criminal enterprise cycle continues,” he will say.

Casinos run by Crown and Star across the country have come under intense scrutiny over money laundering, and rules around the use of poker machines have also been tightened.

That has made property, watches and cryptocurrency the new targets for criminals.

The new laws are likely to be put for a vote in federal parliament later this year.

Originally published as Attorney-General’s blistering attack over money laundering laws