Australia to close net on property money launderers

Nearly 17 years ago, the Australian Government agreed to implement global “Tranche 2” anti-money laundering (AML) rules for real estate gatekeepers like lawyers, accountants and real estate agents in a bid to prevent laundering of illicit funds.

These reforms were then continually postponed amid staunch opposition and lobbying from these same gatekeepers.

This led to Australia having the weakest AML rules in the world pertaining to non-financial conduits like lawyers, accountants and real estate agents:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.