Australian government agency that tracks criminal abuse of the financial system has found the country’s package tour industry a high risk sector for money laundering, financing of terorrism and organized crime, the agency’s latest report revealed.

A court in Melbourne sentenced on Thursday a 49-year-old woman who described herself as the “queen” of a criminal drug smuggling syndicate to 18 years in jail with a 13 years-long non-parole period, according toAustralian Federal Police (AFP).

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allegedly busted a “mafia-style” gang which operated within their own ranks and was made of senior officials of the Protective Service who defrauded the police and the army of thousands of dollars.

After a month-long investigation by Australia’s sporting integrity unit, five men were charged in the country’s first video game match fixing case, theVictoria Police Department announced Sunday.

Australian bank Westpac has said it is setting aside more than AUS$900 million (US$570 million) to resolve allegations it facilitated more than 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws. 

The UK’s largest bank has alerted financial intelligence authorities to possible breaches of anti-money laundering regulations at its Australian subsidiary.

Stimulus packages must include anti-corruption measures if they are to be successful,Transparency International warned the US Congress and the Senate ahead of Wednesday’s  adoption of a historic US$2 trillion rescue package aimed to help the economy crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.

As COVID-19 shut down the world in less than a month, cybercriminals seized the opportunity to use the Internet to defraud and blackmail people and companies.

Anti-graft efforts are stagnating or showing signs of backsliding in more than two-thirds of the world’s countries, including the most advanced economies of the G7, Transparency International (TI) warned on Thursday in its2019 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

When Cypriot police in July flagged a suspicious container bound for Sydney, Australian investigators intercepted the shipment and found a huge amount of ecstasy hidden inside aluminum barbeques. It took months of patience until they could make an arrest.

A former senior Australian bureaucrat, who a month ago tried to kill himself after he was charged with corruption, is set to plead guilty, his lawyer told Australia’s ABC news on Friday.  

Two customs agents and a man were charged with drug trafficking in what authorities are describing as Australia’s largest-ever seizure of methamphetamine after investigators discovered the drugs hidden inside a shipment of stereo speakers.

Police have charged a third person in connection with a multi-million dollar corruption scheme involving Western Australia's Department of Communities, Australia’s ABC News reported Monday. 

Regulators have begun civil proceedings against Westpac Banking Corporation alleging more than 23 million money laundering rule breaches, Australia’s anti money-laundering and terrorism financing regulator (AUSTRAC) said Wednesday.

Three days after authorities charged a senior Australian bureaucrat with pilfering more than AU$ 2.5 million (US$ 1.7 million), he was rushed in critical condition to a Perth hospital, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

Four men are in custody after Australian police uncovered a plot to smuggle 400 kilograms of crystal meth hidden in hot sauce bottles.

Australia’s former border security head will be the first witness called in the country’s inquest into corruption allegations regarding how the agency dealt with a high-profile casino company’s high-roller gamblers.

Australian authorities arrested six players of an online video game who allegedly lost the matches on purpose, betting against themselves and bringing in up to AUD 30,000 (US$20,200), ABC reported Monday.

Georgian authorities arrested last week several members of a child-trafficking crime group, accusing them of illegal production and distribution of child sexual exploitation material.

In the biggest bust for the state of Queensland–and the third largest in Australia–police seized 766 kilograms of pure MDMA powder on Tuesday and charged six people in connection with the case, including two UK citizens.