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International money laundering crackdown claims scalp in Sydney

An international crackdown on a lucrative money laundering racket has claimed another scalp, with the licence of a Sydney-based money transfer company cancelled.

Sydney-based remittance operator, SK Trading (NSW) Pty Ltd, has been deregistered by national anti-money laundering authority, AUSTRAC, after the company was linked with a special criminal investigation known as Operation Zanella.

Company records held with Australian corporate regulators show that the company was incorporated earlier this year and operates in the outer Sydney suburb of Oakhurst.

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AUSTRAC first issued the now cancelled licence on 23 January.

A joint investigation by Indian and Australian enforcement agencies has uncovered a global remittance network that has been used to launder millions of dollars on behalf of organised drug syndicates.

Australian Federal Police raided thirteen premises across Australia in August and September, including suburbs in Perth and Adelaide that led to the seizure of 300 cannabis plants. At least two men were arrested following those raids.

Acting AUSTRAC chief executive, John Schmidt, confirmed that the deregistration of SK Trading (NSW) followed advice from police.

“The Australian Federal Police alerted AUSTRAC to information relating to SKT and its links to Operation Zanella,’’ he said.

“As a result of that information and subsequent review of SKT we are satisfied that its continued registration would involve, or may involve, a significant money laundering risk.”

The crackdown on local remittance providers with links to money laundering activities has helped Indian police uncover narcotics networks operating in Delhi.

Warren Gray, the head of investigations at the National Crime Commission, said last month that alternative remittance providers had become a channel for laundering the proceeds of illegal drug activity.

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