Key points:
- AUSTRAC to expand Fintel Alliance’s data analytics hub following multiple successful investigations
- Joint intelligence operations identified large-scale criminal activity across financial networks
- Gambling operators, banks and government agencies collaborate to address ‘scambling’ and money muling
AUSTRAC has announced an expansion of its Fintel Alliance partnership model following a series of successful operations that used combined data analytics to uncover serious criminal activity, including fraud, tax evasion and illegal gambling.
Established in 2017, the Fintel Alliance is a public-private initiative that includes major banks, remittance services, gambling operators and law enforcement bodies. The programme enables real-time data sharing to detect patterns in financial crime that may be missed through standard regulatory channels.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said: “Using more than 50 million data points from multiple banks, analysts were able to detect previously unseen criminal networks in a matter of days.”
In one recent case, AUSTRAC obtained data on sub-$10,000 cash deposits from Australia’s four largest banks. By analysing the combined data alongside financial crime teams from the institutions, officials identified coordinated transactions linked to organised money laundering
The regulator also reported a rise in “scambling” activity, a practice involving unlicensed online gambling promotions on social media. These platforms, often masquerading as legitimate operators, redirect users to fraudulent websites. Fintel Alliance members have raised concerns about the impact on vulnerable groups, particularly in regional Aboriginal communities.
Good to know: Fintel Alliance has also issued alerts about micro-laundering, a method in which illicit funds are blended with legitimate transactions through low-value digital payments
The expansion includes hiring additional staff and seconding a senior manager from ANZ to co-lead further collaboration across government and industry partners.
Fintel Alliance’s expansion follows AUSTRAC’s “Use It or Lose It” campaign launched in April 2025, targeting dormant cryptocurrency exchanges. The regulator is also preparing to introduce a searchable register for digital currency operators as part of broader integrity and transparency efforts.
