Former ATSIC head Geoff Clark found guilty of fraud – 11 September 2024
Geoff Clark has faced a series of trials over long-running allegations of fraud, relating to about $1 million illegally obtained from his community’s Aboriginal trust. Three juries across four trials found the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) head, guilty of 25 charges. Clark will attend a further hearing ahead of sentencing.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-04/former-atsic-head-geoff-clark-found-guilty-fraud/104308834
Correlation between money laundering and organised crime under the spotlight – 11 September 2024
The latest research conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) shows the close link between organised crime and money laundering and the implications it has on Australian society. The research has found that when organised crime groups have “professional facilitators,” such as lawyers, accountants, and real estate agents, there is an increased likelihood for them to be involved in money laundering and there are usually greater sums of money at play. https://lsj.com.au/articles/correlation-between-money-laundering-and-organised-crime-under-the-spotlight/
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-australian-money-laundering-crime.html
Payment gateway data breach affects 1.7 million credit card owners – 11 September 2024
Payment gateway provider Slim CD, has disclosed a data breach that compromised credit card and personal data belonging to almost 1.7 million individuals. In the notification sent to impacted clients, the company says that hackers had access to its network for nearly a year, between August 2023 and June 2024.
Financial crimes in the Vatican remain unpunished – 11 September 2024
In December 2023, the first cardinal ever to face a criminal trial in the Vatican was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to a hefty term in prison. Nine other officials were found guilty of a smorgasbord of financial crimes after investigations revealed infighting, intrigue and theft on an enormous scale. But no one is yet behind bars.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/vatican-politics/104329988
Paul Montgomery stole millions from the Gurney family business. He was known in the racing industry as ‘The Golden Goose’ – 10 September 2024
Paul Montgomery was entrusted with looking after the Gurney’s family finances. Tensions began to build between the brothers over where the money was going and a legal dispute led to a forensic accountant being called. He uncovered large transfers from business accounts to personal accounts belonging to Paul Montgomery. Montgomery’s personal credit card was then being used to deposit large sums of money into betting agency accounts. In total, it was 17 different betting agency payments totalling over $11.5 million.
‘Long overdue’ financial crime laws needed to close regulatory gap – 11 September 2024
Mark Dreyfus says reforms to Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime will align the national framework with international standards. Many of the crimes these reforms targeted would stop perpetrators profiting from drug trafficking, tax evasion, cybercrime, human trafficking and arms trafficking.
Australia introduces new hate crime and anti-doxxing legislation amid rising antisemitism – 12 September 2024
Australia’s government has introduced new legislation to combat hate crimes and doxxing, with severe penalties for offenders. The move comes in response to a rise in antisemitic incidents and would impose criminal penalties, including jail, for offenders if they targeted a person’s race, gender, ethnic origin, religion, or sexual orientation.
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-819799
Vietnamese men sentenced for role in cultivating $30 million cannabis crop – 12 September 2024
Four Vietnamese-born men have been sentenced for being involved in a criminal gang and for cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis. The men were arrested when police raided a remote property in northern New South Wales in November 2022. Three of them will serve their sentence in the community, while the fourth faces deportation once released from jail.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-12/cannabis-operation-sentencing-drug-law-court/104328668
Australian military officers to be stripped of honours after alleged war crimes under their command – 12 September 2024
The Australian government has decided to cancel the awards and honours of a small group of former military officers, who held command positions at the time that others under their command were accused of war crimes. Maj Gen Paul Brereton, who led a four-year-long inquiry that presented its findings in 2020, found “credible” information to implicate 25 current or former Australian special forces personnel in the alleged unlawful killing of 39 individuals and the cruel treatment of two others in Afghanistan.
Tech giants, banks and telcos to face massive fines and compensation for failing to protect scam victims under new laws – 13 September 2024
Australian businesses may soon have to comply with new mandatory codes which will put in place new rules about detecting, preventing and responding to scams. The codes will apply to banks, telcos and tech giants. The federal government has released draft legislation for consultation and aims to introduce the news laws later this year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-12/banks-telcos-social-media-fines-scams-code/104346234
Robodebt public servants breached code – 13 September 2024
A new report into the illegal robodebt scheme has found that twelve public servants, including former department heads breached their code of conduct 97 times.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/worldtoday/robodebt-public-servants-breached-code/104348472
