Australia and China against money laundering

Both countries agreed to share information on money laundering and financial transgressions after the detention of Crown employees.

Australia.- China and Australia signed a deal that states that both countries will share information to help fight money-laundering and other financial operations. The pact was signed by representatives of China’s Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Center and Australian authorities in Beijing.

Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said that following the money trail is an essential element. Although they’ve been talking for years about a deal like the one they signed today, the detention of 18 Crown employees has pushed them to come forward and finally sign this deal. Xi Jinping, China’s president, has been fighting the illegal activity for several months, and created the “Operation Fox”, which consists of asking authorities of other countries to build cooperation and help track laundered money.

“I made it clear in my conversations that the Australian government is deeply interested in this case but beyond that I don’t know that there’s much further that I can usefully add,” said the Australian Justice Minister. Paul Jevtovic, head of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre said that this deal allows both countries to have open communication and help them identify the activities, therefore they can support law-enforcement investigations.

“This is designed to enhance the ability of China and Australia to detect and disrupt serious financial crimes as well as to harden and protect our financial systems from criminal abuse,” he added.