PHOTO: Property for sale
Profits from drugs and crime are entering the country’s economy, say anti-money laundering experts, and laws to stop it are lagging behind the rest of the world.
Australian anti-money laundering experts have warned the country is lagging behind global standards in the developed world when it comes to combating the flow of illicit money entering the housing market.
Money from international drug trafficking and other crimes is flowing into the Australian housing market and potentially distorting prices for everyday Australians looking to buy a house, they say.
While it is difficult to say how much dirty money is distorting the housing market, experts say the flows are “significant” and new laws and regulations are needed to combat the issue.
Professor of law at Latrobe University in Melbourne, Louis de Koker told SBS News Australian real estate was a particularly attractive destination for foreign and local dirty money.
READ MORE VIA SBS