The Government has announced that AUSTRAC has signed an agreement to share financial intelligence with the Vatican City State. “Criminals involved in money laundering, terrorism, tax evasion, drug trafficking and other serious crimes do not respect borders, so cooperation is needed between financial intelligence units and law enforcement in a range of countries,” said Minister for Justice Michael Keenan.
Mr Keenan said the agreement protects the confidentiality of the information exchanged and ensures that the information will only be used for the purpose for which it is communicated to the foreign jurisdiction. The Minister noted the Vatican City State has also signed similar agreements with the US, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Germany.
Source: Minister for Justice’s media release, 27 February 2014
[LTN 41, 3/3/14]