Australia's anti-money laundering agency AUSTRAC is hosting the inaugural Pacific Financial Intelligence Analyst Course which commences at the Australian National University (ANU) today.
New technologies are changing the financial landscape in the Pacific which transnational crime syndicates are exploiting. AUSTRAC's partnership with Pacific financial intelligence units mitigates these vulnerabilities, and ensures Pacific Islands are not seen as an attractive conduit by criminals.
The course will focus on sharing intelligence, tradecraft, and systems to enhance the ability of financial intelligence analysts across the Pacific to identify suspicious financial patterns that can trigger a deeper investigation. Money laundering is a common element in most crimes as criminals seek to conceal the source of funds.
Regional experts from the private and public sector will deliver training across a range of financial crimes, including sophisticated money laundering, organised crime, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, and corruption - enhancing participants' ability to detect, deter, and disrupt financial crime in our region.
AUSTRAC CEO, Nicole Rose PSM, said that the nature of financial crimes transcends borders, and underlies the need for international cooperation and regional solutions.
"Criminal and security threats to financial systems go to the heart of national security and prosperity, whether transnational organised crime or corruption. The ease of movement of goods, people, and money globally means an agile and collaborative approach is needed to combat financial crime," said Ms Rose.
"We need to follow the money as it crosses borders and enters different financial ecosystems, and we do this by sharing intelligence and financial tools with partners."
"This is why AUSTRAC is delivering this course: to share financial intelligence tradecraft with our Pacific partners, and uplift capability across our region, so that together we can combat the challenges of evolving financial crime threats."
The Pacific Financial Intelligence Analyst Course is being held at the Australia Pacific Security College (ANU). Participants' travel costs are covered as part of the AUSTRAC Pacific Island Partnership Program funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
