{"id":40060,"date":"2022-08-25T14:55:19","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T02:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/?p=40060"},"modified":"2022-08-25T14:55:19","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T02:55:19","slug":"the-property-market-and-money-laundering-in-australia-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/the-property-market-and-money-laundering-in-australia-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"The property market and money laundering in Australia | WATCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: The Lucky Laundry – Nathan Lynch<\/strong><\/p>\n

The property market is a favourite for money launderers, forcing ordinary Australians to compete with organised crime for their dream home, says\u00a0investigative author Nathan Lynch. He blames the power of lobbyists as a cancer on our democracy. Lynch\u2019s new book is a wake-up call, writes\u00a0Stephanie Tran.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Australia has been captured by a phenomenon called the property industrial complex. It poisons our politics and institutions, but worse, it forces aspiring home-owners on restricted incomes to compete with the bottomless pockets of criminal networks.<\/p>\n

This is the convincing hypothesis of a new book by crime investigator Nathan Lynch. The Lucky Laundry, subtitled How the Aussie Economy Got Hooked on the World\u2019s Dirtiest Cash, delves deep into how political inertia has enabled \u201cdark money\u201d to pollute our financial system. The book is a wake-up call.<\/p>\n

Having spent over two decades investigating the murky world of\u00a0 \u201cdark money\u2019\u2019 in organised crime, Lynch has encountered some colourful characters. They feature heavily throughout the book, putting human faces to the nebulous world of organised crime and money laundering.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Are our laws strong enough?<\/h3>\n

Tranche 1 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act (AML\/CTF) was passed under the Howard government in 2006 with bipartisan support. Tranche 2 was slated to follow promptly. However, 16 years later successive governments have failed to get the laws through.<\/p>\n

Australia is one of the few countries that have failed to pass Tranche 2 of the act. \u201cAustralia is now left in a position where it can\u2019t be an international pariah much longer with impunity,\u201d says Lynch.<\/p>\n

The Australian property market is a favourite for money launderers. Our failure to regulate the flow of \u201cdark money\u201d has led to billions of illicit funds flooding the property market, forcing ordinary Australians to go up against organised crime and corrupt oligarchs, says Lynch.<\/p>\n