Perth Mint avoids fine despite litany of compliance failures

The taxpayer-owned Perth Mint and its operator Gold Corporation have avoided a fine despite Australia’s finance watchdog uncovering a litany of failures in its compliance with anti-money laundering and terrorism finance laws.

Instead, Gold Corp has entered into an “enforceable undertaking” with AUSTRAC which sets in stone a requirement for the organisation to fix its anti-money laundering compliance rules in full by April 2025.

The Perth Mint and Gold Corporation have avoided a fine.

Political pressure has ramped up on the mint since March, when a Four Corners investigation exposed holes in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing defences. It was during this episode that CCTV footage emerged of ex-Hells Angels bikie Dayne Brajkovich purchasing tens of thousands of dollars worth of gold without mint staff batting an eyelid.

AUSTRAC acting chief executive Peter Soros signed the undertaking on Wednesday, which he said was designed to ensure Gold Corp complied with its obligations into the future.

“We will continue to oversee their progress to ensure ongoing compliance,” Soros said.

“All businesses enrolled with AUSTRAC must have robust systems in place to ensure they meet their AML/CTF obligations. Businesses like Gold Corporation are the front line of defence in protecting Australia’s financial system from exploitation by criminals.”

Austrac first raised its concerns with Gold Corp in July 2022 with a compliance assessment report that found significant issues with its internal anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing processes.

In August 2022, it ordered Gold Corp appoint an external auditor to investigate the issues raised, which was completed in July 2023 and backed AUSTRAC’s initial findings.

The enforceable undertaking document released on Thursday contained a level of detail of Gold Corp’s compliance failures that have not been seen publicly since AUSTRAC first revealed its interest in the organisation in August last year.

The failures included failing to meet obligations to assess Perth Mint customers under “know your customer” rules and failing to alert AUSTRAC after providing financial services to customers, which is a requirement under the regulator’s rules.

It also found the mint failed to tell Austrac about instructions received from customers to transfer funds internationally, which is also required by anti-money laundering laws. In the latest report, the external auditor found these failures occurred 3322 times.

Also in the latest report, AUSTRAC sample testing found Gold Corp had not undertaken the required customer identification procedures before providing services to 15 customers.

In the enforceable undertaking, AUSTRAC said it acknowledged the cooperation and engagement of Gold Corp throughout the compliance assessment and had started to fix the issues.

It is also the subject of a senate committee inquiry started by Liberal Senator Dean Smith.

WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston heralded Thursday’s action as a great outcome that meant the regulator was satisfied with the $34 million remediation program in place to fix legacy issues with Gold Corp and the mint.

Contraventions of anti-money laundering laws at big financial institutions like banks have resulted in fines of more than $1 billion in the past, and WA state opposition and federal Liberal senators warned the mint’s non-compliance left taxpayers exposed to similar fines.

However, in a recent committee hearing, WA Auditor-General Caroline Spencer said a fine was unlikely given the cooperation shown by the mint to address compliance issues.

Johnston told 6PR that no allegations of actual money laundering had ever been levelled at the mint, and he hoped the enforceable undertaking would stop his opponents from stirring up fears of fines and let it get on with implementing the remediation program.

The Perth Mint chair Sam Walsh said he was pleased AUSTRAC had noted the efforts the mint had gone to address compliance issues.

“We’re working hard to meet the expectations and maintain the trust of the WA community, the gold mining sector, our business partners and customers,” he said.

“We take comfort that the auditor’s report confirmed the design and scope of our remediation program is appropriate to deliver effective remediation.

“We continue to take steps to strengthen our compliance structures to ensure we play our part in protecting Australia’s financial system from criminal exploitation.”

Liberal Senator and Perth Mint committee chair Dean Smith said the enforceable undertaking was not a clean bill of health for the organisation.

“It makes clear that AUSTRAC remains concerned about current and future compliance at the Mint – and reflects its lack of confidence in the Mint’s own compliance overhaul,” Smith said.

“The Senate’s decision last week to extend this bipartisan Inquiry into the new year has been vindicated, despite WA Labor’s attempts to discredit it as unnecessary and politically-motivated.”

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