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Real estate agents, along with lawyers and accountants, will be required to report dirty money that is used to buy property if Labor wins the federal election, media reports are suggesting.
If Labor is elected into government, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has undertaken to extend anti-money laundering laws to a range of professionals, including real estate agents, according to the ABC.
In an ABC Four Corners program last week, it was shown that law enforcement agencies in China called on former Australian detectives to find the proceeds of crime which may have been used by corrupt Chinese officials to buy property in Australia.
According to the ABC, criminals are known to clean dirty money by buying legitimate assets overseas, such as houses, and that Australia has long been used as a destination to do it.
It said that real estate agents are often seen as the “weak link”, along with lawyers and accountants, on account of the fact that, under current laws, they are not required to report dodgy deals that might appear to be suspicious.
Apparently, China has called on former police detectives in Australia (and other Western countries) in the past to assist in recovering “hot” money taken out of the country, allegedly running into many millions of dollars.
The ABC has also reported that the federal government delayed the extension of the anti-money laundering laws to non-financial businesses and professions last year, including real estate agents, prompting Mr Bowen to accuse the government of failing to be tough on overseas law breakers.
Mr Bowen said: “According to the government’s own work plan, real estate agents should already be covered by our money laundering laws. Labor can be trusted to take money laundering financial crime seriously.”
Mr Bowen also said that Labor would reverse recent ASIC and federal police budget cuts.
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