Weak money laundering laws put Australia at risk of becoming a haven for Russian cash

Australia’s lax money laundering laws mean the nation is at risk of becoming a haven for Russian cash belonging to oligarchs who are seeking to avoid sanctions over the war in Ukraine, experts say.

The country is one of only three – along with Haiti and Madagascar – yet to commit to bringing lawyers, accountants and real estate agents under the umbrella of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws (AML-CTF).

Having failed to act on a promise it made eight years ago to bring the professions into the AML-CTF system, the government now faces a race against time to take action before global authorities put Australia on a “grey list” of countries that don’t meet international standards – a move experts say would embarrass the nation, damage its banks and make it harder for companies to raise money overseas.

“We have just in the last couple of weeks, through the processes we follow, managed to identify a few Russian entities with money in this space,” says Andrew Jackson, who is the Australian head of First AML, a company that provides customer screening and other anti-money laundering services.

“Now whether they are legitimate or not, I don’t know,” he says.

“It is an appealing area for someone from Russia right now. I think some of the sanctions that have been put in place are making it harder, but yes, if we don’t have wider legislation, we are always going to be running the risk that people who need to move illegal funds around look at Australia, because it’s just an easier target.”