Reports of suspect transactions not reported under FTR Act or AMLCTF Act
7 Reports of suspect transactions not reported under FTR Act or AMLCTF Act
A cash dealer who is a party to a transaction, and has reasonable grounds to suspect that information that the cash dealer has concerning the transaction —
may be relevant to the investigation of, or prosecution of a person for, an offence against the law of the State; or
may be of assistance in the enforcement of the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000,
must, as soon as practicable after forming the suspicion, prepare a report of the transaction and communicate the information contained in it to the AUSTRAC CEO.
Penalty for this subsection: a fine of $20 000 and imprisonment for 2 years.
Subsection (1) does not apply if the cash dealer is required to report the transaction under —
the FTR Act Part II Division 2; or
if the cash dealer is a reporting entity, the AMLCTF Act Part 3 Division 2, 3 or 4.
The report under subsection (1) must —
be in the form approved by the AUSTRAC CEO for the purposes of the FTR Act section 16; and
contain the reportable details of the transaction; and
contain a statement of the grounds on which the cash dealer holds the suspicion mentioned in subsection (1); and
be signed by the cash dealer.
The communication of information to the AUSTRAC CEO under subsection (1) must be made —
by giving the AUSTRAC CEO a copy of the report; or
in any other way approved by the AUSTRAC CEO.
An approval for the purposes of subsection (4)(b) —
must be in writing; and
may relate to a specified cash dealer or class of cash dealers.
Subsection (6) applies if a cash dealer communicates information to the AUSTRAC CEO under subsection (1).
The Commissioner of Police, or a police officer who is carrying out an investigation arising from, or relating to the matters referred to in, the information may request the cash dealer —
to give the Commissioner or police officer, within the period specified in the request, the additional information specified in the request; or
to produce to the Commissioner or police officer, within the period specified in the request, the documents about the matter to which the communication under subsection (1) relates specified in the request.
The period specified in the request for giving the information or producing the documents must be at least 14 days after the day the request is made, unless —
the person making the request considers that a shorter period is necessary; and
the shorter period is reasonable in the circumstances.
The additional information or documents must be information or documents that —
may be relevant to the investigation of, or prosecution of a person for, an offence against the law of the State; or
may be of assistance in the enforcement of the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000.
The cash dealer must comply with the request to the extent that the cash dealer has the additional information or documents.
Penalty for this subsection: a fine of $20 000 and imprisonment for 2 years.
In this section —
reportable details, in relation to a transaction, means the details of the transaction that are referred to in the FTR Act Schedule 4.
[Section 7 amended: No. 69 of 2000 s. 15(1)(b) and (c) 2; No. 25 of 2018 s. 8.]
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