AUSTRAC’s 2024 Regulatory Priorities: New sector focuses and more responsibility for boards
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Australia
I am an experienced litigation and investigations lawyer based in Sydney, leading Bird & Bird's Australian disputes and investigations practice and co-leading our global Defence and Security practice.
Special Counsel
Australia
I'm a Special Counsel in the Corporate Group based in our Sydney office, with a focus on delivering strategic legal advice to clients in the Technology & Communications and Financial Services sectors. With close to two decades of experience working in, and providing advice to, high technology industries, I bring a valuable blend of technical acumen and legal insight. I began my professional career as a computer programmer before changing to law in 2005, giving me a sector-side perspective on Australia's complex information technology landscape.
Senior Associate
Australia
I am a senior associate in the Dispute Resolution team at Bird & Bird specialising in commercial, corporate, contractual and insolvency litigation.
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Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulator – AUSTRAC – has released its statement of 2024 regulatory priorities. AUSTRAC’s priorities are divided into two categories: “enduring priorities” and “increased regulatory focuses”. All regulated entities should pay close attention to this recent insight from AUSTRAC into what it intends to home in on during the next year.
AUSTRAC’s enduring priorities are:
- Mitigating and managing money laundering and terrorism-financing risk.
- Ensuring that reporting entities have effective AML/CTF programs setting out how they will comply with the AML/CTF Act and AML/CTF Rules.
- Ensuring that relevant matters are reported to AUSTRAC. In particular, international funds transfer instructions, threshold transaction reports and suspicious matter reports.
- Closely monitoring high risk sectors, namely banking, gambling and remittance.
AUSTRAC’s areas of increased regulatory focus for 2024 are the following sectors:
- Digital currency exchanges.
- Payment platforms.
- Bullion.
- Non-bank lenders and financiers.
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