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Cyber crime is just one of the activities curtailed by the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT).
A taskforce led by the Australian Federal Police has restrained or confiscated $1.1 billion in criminal proceeds since 2019.
This is well in advance of the $600 million target set by AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw back in 2019, and almost half of the final figure was restrained in 2023 alone.
Drug trafficking and money laundering were the main crimes where financial restraint was triggered, but scammers and cyber criminals also saw their ill-gotten gains targeted, alongside human traffickers and the proceeds from child exploitation.
AFP head of the CACT Stefan Jerga said that targeting criminal wealth was a key way to stop more crimes from being committed.
“Though we have exceeded Commissioner Kershaw’s original $600 million target, the CACT’s ambitions continue well beyond this. Our highly skilled and co-located, Australia-wide teams of police, financial investigators, forensic accountants, litigators, cryptocurrency experts, and partner agency specialists will continue to be relentless in pursuing the assets and wealth of those who attempt to operate outside of the law,” Jerga said in a statement.
Aside from raw cash and bank accounts, confiscated assets include residential properties, motor vehicles, residential properties, luxury items, and even one yacht. Under Commonwealth proceeds of crime laws, the CACT can restrain items “based on a civil standard of proof”, even where there is no related criminal case.
Other entities involved in CACT include the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, AUSTRAC and the Australian Border Force.
“In addition to the CACT’s strong public and private partnerships in Australia, the CACT leverages the AFP’s international partners and network of deployed AFP members to also restrain and confiscate assets outside of Australia,” Jerga said. “The AFP has a presence in 34 countries.”
“The success of the CACT should serve as yet another clear warning that the AFP will not allow criminals to cash in on crime. We will continue to target and disrupt their illicit operations, including by restraining and confiscating criminal assets.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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