AUSTRAC Expands Fintel Alliance to Fight Financial Crime

AUSTRAC has officially expanded its flagship public-private initiative, Fintel Alliance, by reinforcing its role as a central intelligence hub in the fight against financial crime. This move comes as part of AUSTRAC’s effort to deepen the collaboration between regulators, banks, law enforcement, and industry partners.

Fintel Alliance was established in 2017 with an aim to bring together major banks, remittance service providers, gambling operators, and law enforcement agencies to share intelligence and target serious criminal threats.

Fintel Alliance is a world-leading public-private collaboration in which members and law enforcement collaborate and exchange data in real time to combat serious crime.

The partnership has proven highly effective in identifying and disrupting activities that are related to money laundering, fraud, tax evasion, child exploitation, and illegal phoenixing.

As part of the advancement, a seconded senior manager from ANZ Bank will co-lead and develop new partnerships with industry and government members.

This growth includes strengthening its capacity with additional staff, allowing Fintel Alliance to contribute to further intelligence innovations and build the framework for partnerships with tranche 2 businesses.

One of the most significant achievements of the Alliance involved analyzing over 50 million data points from cash deposit transactions under $10,000, sourced from the four largest banks, to jointly identify criminal patterns.

“In just a few days, we identified major criminal networks now subject to law enforcement action,” said Thomas.

Fintel Alliance has also addressed the emerging threats, such as micro-laundering, where illegal funds are mixed with legal sources and then moved in small amounts to avoid detection.

“Combining data from multiple sources about cash transactions less than $10,000 allowed Fintel Alliance to more rapidly understand the nature and extent of criminality,” said Paul Jevtovic, NAB’s Chief Financial Crime Risk Officer.

Another key initiative is the campaign against ‘scambling’, a scam targeting the remote Aboriginal communities through the illegal gambling platforms promoted on social media. Fintel Alliance has worked with police, banks, and partners to raise relevant awareness and minimize the harm.

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“Building even stronger partnerships is going to extend our ability to weed out criminal abuse of the financial system and hit organised crime where it hurts,” said John Moss, AUSTRAC Deputy CEO, Intelligence.

Fintel Alliance continues to set a global benchmark for real-time, intelligence-led financial crime prevention.

As per the AUSTRAC publication, the expansion of Fintel Alliance highlights the need for heightened vigilance within regulated sectors, particularly those like banking, gambling, and real estate, where financial transactions intersect with the complex compliance obligations.