AUSTRAC has announced that it will expand its intelligence partnership, Fintel Alliance.

Fintel Alliance is a world leading public-private partnership where members and law enforcement work together and share data in real time to target serious crime.

AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said the Intelligence Division’s Fintel Alliance has been so productive that the agency will now make its collaborative data analytics hub a central function going forward.

“Together, we are able to do much more than any of us could do alone. Fintel Alliance members are working in partnership to fight financial crime – pooling data, sharing insights, and targeting major threats to strengthen financial systems and law enforcement action,” Mr Thomas said.

“This has generated real intelligence across a range of serious crimes including money laundering, child sexual exploitation, domestic violence, tax evasion, fraud and illegal phoenixing.

“For example, late last year we worked with our partners using the collaborative data analytics hub. We obtained all cash deposit transaction data under $10,000 from the four largest banks and jointly looked for criminal patterns. We had more than 50 million data points.

“Using the combined datasets, new software, and with our analysts and bank analysts working together in the same room, we were able to see things that were not visible before. In just a few days we identified major criminal networks now subject to law enforcement action. This shows the power of intelligence partnerships and collective effort.”

Fintel Alliance, first established in 2017, connects experts from major banks, remittance service providers and gambling operators, with law enforcement and security agencies in Australia and overseas.

AUSTRAC is building out the collaborative data analytics hub, a platform for data sharing which has helped identify criminal patterns and trends across the financial sector

This expansion also includes increasing its capacity with additional staff so that Fintel Alliance can contribute to more intelligence innovations and lay the groundwork for partnerships with tranche 2 entities. As part of the expansion, a seconded senior manager from ANZ Bank will help co-lead and build new pairings with industry and government members.

Last year Fintel Alliance produced a threat alert on money muling behaviour and identified an increase in micro-laundering, a process where funds are co-mingled with legitimate and illicit sources and moved at volume through low-value digital transfers.

Fintel Alliance also recently launched a campaign on “scambling”, a practice where unlicensed online gambling platforms advertise on social media and trick people to visit a scam website to participate in gambling.

Regional and remote Aboriginal communities are being targeted in this scam and Fintel Alliance is working with police, banks and other industry partners to raise awareness of “scambling”, to minimise harm to vulnerable Australians.

Fintel Alliance member and NAB Chief Financial Crime Risk Officer, Paul Jevtovic, said practical warnings for customers targeted by criminals is just one of many constructive outcomes achieved through Fintel collaboration.

“The nature of scambling – frequent small transactions – means it isn’t traditionally captured by mandatory reporting,” Mr Jevtovic said.

“However, combining data from multiple sources about cash transactions less than $10,000 allowed Fintel Alliance to more rapidly understand the nature and extent of criminality resulting in timely dissemination amongst members.

“I’ve seen this partnership and capability evolve since 2017 and its expansion is a modern approach not only to intelligence gathering, but more responsive regulation.”

Fintel Alliance Executive Board co-chair and ANZ Group Head of Financial Crime Risk, Cassandra Hewett, said ANZ is proud to have been actively involved in Fintel Alliance since its inception.

“The breadth of industry involvement reflects the value the financial industry sees from the public-private partnership,” Ms Hewett said.

“All members of Fintel Alliance continue to prioritise fighting financial crime and have strengthened our contribution to the collective effort – to prevent our businesses being infiltrated by organised crime, to protect our customers from being exploited, and to drive crime out of our communities.

“Criminals are adept at finding the weak points. By working together to develop and use new tools, technologies and fresh approaches to combat crime we can strengthen the ecosystem we all operate in.

“The collaborative data analytics hub allows Fintel Alliance members to connect our data in ways that weren’t previously possible, providing real time responses to criminal behaviour on already more than one occasion. We are excited to continue to develop these tools and drive real time responses, together.”

Fintel Alliance Executive Board co-chair and AUSTRAC Deputy CEO Intelligence John Moss, said Fintel Alliance expansion is key to AUSTRAC’s ability to disrupt criminal activity above and beyond the existing intelligence efforts and regulatory reach.

“Building even stronger partnerships is going to extend our ability to weed out criminal abuse of the financial system and hit organised crime where it hurts,” Dr Moss said.

“As AUSTRAC prepares to welcome tranche 2 industries to our regulated population, the expansion will no doubt continue to play an even bigger part in disrupting criminal activity.”