This guide provides indicators and behaviours to help financial service providers, particularly those engaged in trade financing, to detect and report suspicious financial activity.

International trade is an attractive avenue for criminals as it presents risks and vulnerabilities that they can exploit. Criminals engaged in trade-based money laundering use the trade of goods and services to move illicit money into and out of Australia and around the world.

Trade-based money laundering schemes vary in complexity and can be challenging to detect as they can involve multiple parties and jurisdictions and misrepresent the prices, quantity or quality of imported or exported goods.

Your business can play a crucial role in detecting trade-based money laundering by recognising and reporting suspicious activity to AUSTRAC.

Download the Financial crime guide – Preventing trade-based money laundering in Australia (PDF, 1.88MB)

The content on this website is general and is not legal advice. Before you make a decision or take a particular action based on the content on this website, you should check its accuracy, completeness, currency and relevance for your purposes. You may wish to seek independent professional advice.

Last updated: 5 Apr 2023
Page ID: 842

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