The high intrinsic value of bullion allows it to be used by criminals to store and invest the proceeds of crime. Criminals target bullion dealers to launder illicit funds and evade taxes, and facilitate crimes including fraud, scams and drug trafficking. Similarly to legitimate investors, criminals may use gold as a hedge against inflation, currency risk, and a store of value during economic and political uncertainty.

To mitigate this threat, reporting entities in the bullion sector are required to maintain and implement an anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing (AML/CTF) program and report to AUSTRAC.

To help you meet your obligations and protect your business from criminals, AUSTRAC has developed an overview of the unique requirements for the bullion sector.

We have also developed a list of indicators of suspicious activity which will help you identify suspicious circumstances that indicate your business is potentially at risk of criminal exploitation.

In addition to this, we have also released a new money laundering/terrorism financing risk assessment of the Australian bullion dealers sector. This gives a deep dive into the criminal threat environment and vulnerabilities facing the sector, as well as their potential consequences. The risk assessment will also help you to review your processes to ensure your business is in the best possible position to prevent criminals from targeting your business.

What you need to do

Use these resources to review your AML/CTF controls, and to identify suspicious activity.

If you suspect that a customer or transaction is linked to a crime, you are required to submit a suspicious matter report to AUSTRAC.