Stopping Dirty Money Panel

Foreign bribery

Bribery is one of the most direct and damaging forms of corruption worldwide. It is a threat to democracy and the rule of law, and it’s a major obstacle to fair economic development in poorer countries.

Foreign bribery can also fly under the radar because it’s very difficult to detect and our investigative and enforcement agencies are not sufficiently equipped to go after individuals.

Australia now has stronger foreign bribery laws and adequate procedures for companies, but we still lack a deferred prosecution agreement scheme. We need enforcement, investigative capacity, and a DPA regime to encourage companies to cooperate and report bribery.

Learn more

Key resource Transparency International’s latest foreign bribery report, Exporting Corruption, finds most countries are not doing enough The latest foreign bribery assessment finds most of the world’s top exporting countries are not doing enough to stop foreign bribery, and many are sliding backwards. The research finds Australia also continues to lag in efforts to stop foreign bribery. Access the report

Money laundering

Australia is a major destination of the world’s dirty money. Much of this dirty money is flowing out of poorer countries, and into the economies of wealthy countries.

Money laundering is a crime, and Australia has now strengthened its laws to make it harder for criminals to fly under the radar.

We need to make sure the new anti-money laundering laws work in practice, so that real estate agents, lawyers, corporate service providers and accountants – professions that are more likely to encounter illicit money – do proper due diligence and report suspicious transactions.

Learn more

Beneficial ownership & due diligence When company ownership information is not accessible in a central and credible place, it’s hard to do adequate due diligence. This leads to a culture of anonymous shell companies, makes it hard to research risks, track relationships, find conflicts of interest and detect corruption. Australia is now rolling out a centralised corporate register, but it’s still too easy to set up a business with incorrect information or to hide one’s identity. We need to ensure information in our corporate register is correct, accessible and up-to-date, and reveals companies’ true beneficial owners. Learn more

Kleptocracy

In kleptocratic regimes, those in power engage in large-scale theft, often siphoning off public funds, resources, and wealth for their personal enrichment.

The consequences of kleptocracy can be devastating, leaving nations impoverished and citizens disenfranchised.

We are committed to dismantling the systems that allow kleptocracy to flourish, both in Australia and globally. We work in close collaboration with chapters across Asia and internationally to combat kleptocracy through advocacy, research and coalition-building.

Learn more