AUSTRAC highlighted the involvement of \u201cpolitically exposed\u201d foreigners within the junkets. In money-laundering terms, a politically exposed person (PEP) is someone who has been promoted by an international body or state to a high-profile position within the past 12 months. PEP\u2019s are more likely to need to launder the proceeds of bribery and corruption, or assets otherwise stripped from their country of origin.<\/p>\n
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Their presence also \u201cincreases the vulnerability of this sector to exploitation for the purposes of foreign interference because these individuals are inherently more likely to hold political ideologies, wield political power and have access to government funds,\u201d AUSTRAC said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe agency said it had identified links between a small number of junket operators and \u201cpossible foreign interference activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between April 2018 and the end of March 2019, AUSTRAC received 635 suspicious matter reports regarding junkets. Two unnamed casinos accounted for two-thirds of these.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The junket operators who serve the Australian casino sector have been infiltrated by criminals and foreign agents, placing the nation at risk of money laundering and \u201cforeign interference.\u201d That\u2019s the conclusion of a report by Australia\u2019s financial crimes agency, AUSTRAC. It raises serious questions about the domestic casino industry\u2019s continued relationships with the junkets, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":158267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
AUSTRAC Says Junkets Infiltrated by Organized Crime, Foreign Agents<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n