Solving crimes in the financial landscape: A Q&A with Tookitaki
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“REDEFINING financial crime compliance to make the world a better place.”
Following the company’s motto, Tookitaki’s initiative of breaking silos and providing a platform to collaborate and fight financial crime, the company expanded their business in the Philippine market to bring scalable and machine learning-powered product offerings to help financial institutions address money laundering risks.
Tookitaki (a Thunes company) is a regulatory technology company offering financial crime detection and prevention solutions to some of the world’s leading banks and fintech companies to help them transform their anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance technology needs.
Founded in November 2014, the company employs over 100 people across the US, the UK, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the UAE.
To know more about Tookitaki and its approach in providing end-to-end financial crime solutions to some of the world’s leading financial institutions, BusinessWorld reached out to Tookitaki’s Chief Executive Officer and founder Abhishek Chatterjee to share his thoughts and insights. Below is the excerpt of the interview:
Please introduce us to Tookitaki. What are your visions and goals?
Mr. Chatterjee: Headquartered in Singapore, Tookitaki provides end-to-end financial crime solutions to some of the world’s leading financial institutions. In the ASEAN region, some of the largest banks and fintech companies rely on Tookitaki to transform their AML compliance needs. Tookitaki was founded in November 2014 and employs over 100 employees across our offices in Asia, Europe, and the US.
Fighting financial crime needs to be a collective effort through centralized intelligence-gathering. Aimed at breaking silos, the AFC (anti-financial crime) Ecosystem, includes a network of experts and provides a platform for the experts to create a knowledge base to share financial crime scenarios.
This collective intelligence is the ability of a large group of AFC experts to pool their knowledge, data, and skills to tackle complex problems related to financial crime and pursue innovative ideas.
The AFC ecosystem is a game changer since it helps remove the information vacuum created by siloed operations. Our network of experts includes risk advisers, legal firms, AFC specialists, consultancies, and financial institutions from across the globe.
Tookitaki’s AML Suite (AMLS) is an operating system comprising four modules, such as transaction monitoring, smart screening, customer risk scoring, and the Case Manager, under one roof to address our customers’ compliance requirements. It provides holistic risk coverage, sharper detection, and significantly fewer false alerts. It can be deployed in multiple environments including the public cloud, private cloud, and data center.
The AFC Ecosystem and the AMLS work in tandem and help our stakeholders widen their view of risk from an internal one to an industry-wide one across organizations and borders. Moreover, they can do so without compromising privacy and security.
Tookitaki means to hide and seek in Bengali. The name perfectly articulates our intention to uncover the hide-and-seek nature of financial crime with artificial intelligence.
Today, Tookitaki (A Thunes company) is leading AML initiatives in most of the key digital banks in Asia. One of the largest digital banks in the Philippines, one of the world’s largest fintech and payment companies headquartered in China, one of Asia’s largest digital banks based out of Singapore, and one of the fastest-growing crypto wallets based out of Asia.
Tookitaki’s innovations in regulatory compliance have been acknowledged worldwide. Chartis Research named the company a Rising Star in its 2021 RiskTech 100 report. In 2020, the company won the Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence and G20TechSprint accelerator. In 2019, the company was featured in the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer List.
What products and services do you plan to offer in the local market, and how would you differentiate Tookitaki from other vendors providing AML compliance solutions? What makes it “innovative” in addressing a regulatory or market need?
Mr. Chatterjee: At Tookitaki, we have always believed that technology is for the greater good. The AFC Ecosystem is a community-driven first of its kind initiative aimed at breaking silos and providing a platform to collaborate and fight financial crime. The AFC Ecosystem’s single motto is to break silos and provide a platform where AFC experts across the globe can use their knowledge and expertise to build a safer society.
The AFC Ecosystem is a game changer since it helps remove the information vacuum created by siloed operations. Our network of experts includes risk advisers, legal firms, AFC specialists, consultancies, and financial institutions from across the globe.
Underpinning it is a valued partnership program that is mutually beneficial for all stakeholders engaged in reducing the laundering of illicit proceeds of crime and terrorism.
Tookitaki’s offerings in the Philippines primarily include the AFC Ecosystem and the AMLS.
Our community comprises of experts covering the entire spectrum of money laundering: placement, layering, and integration. They include Financial Crime Compliance (FCC), law enforcement, and nongovernment organizations to name a few who are all giants in their own right. With this diverse community approach, financial institutions, who are the first line of defense, are empowered to identify “dirty money” patterns that aren’t easily discoverable. Operationalizing this collective intelligence results in the creation of more comprehensive risk policies.
Tookitaki’s AMLS covers the entire customer onboarding and ongoing processes through its transaction monitoring, smart screening, customer risk scoring, and the case manager. Together they provide holistic risk coverage, sharper detection, and significant effort reduction in managing false alerts. It is uniquely designed to complement existing systems by cutting through the noise and clutter generated by large volumes of alerts in legacy transaction monitoring processes.
For our customers like traditional banks and fintech companies, an extensive understanding of their consumers is a must for effective and comprehensive risk policies. The AMLS is a product that enables this through the combination of its Intelligent Alert Detection (IAD) for detection and prevention along with its Smart Alert Management (SAM) for Management.
With technology touching every facet of society, money mules and fraudulent accounts are a growing problem that needs to be addressed to assist in the country’s efforts to prevent financial crime, notably in the government sector. Tookitaki aims to improve the honesty of the Philippines’ financial market by providing comprehensive AML compliance programs for fintech companies, which include payment service providers, e-wallet providers, and virtual asset service providers.
Please elaborate more on Tookitaki’s Anti-Money Laundering Suite or AMLS and how it would apply to banks.
Mr. Chatterjee: Tookitaki’s AMLS covers the entire customer onboarding and ongoing processes through transaction monitoring, smart screening, customer risk scoring and the case manager. Together they provide holistic risk coverage, sharper detection, and significant effort reduction in managing false alerts. It is uniquely designed to complement existing systems by cutting through the noise and clutter generated by large volumes of alerts in legacy transaction monitoring processes.
As mentioned earlier, our AMLS has two main functionalities: IAD and SAM.
The SAM functionality of AMLS specifically helps banks with:
• management and filtering of false alerts
• ease of integration into their current process governance
• operational guidance from past learnings with other banks
Based on our previous customer case studies, we can say that when customers start using the SAM module, they can expect a RoI (return of investment) in approximately nine months and along with that we deliver a superior experience via:
Operational efficiency through alert prioritization
SAM across transaction monitoring and screening helps in automated triaging and helps categorize all alerts into three risk levels: L1 (Low risk), L2 (Moderate risk), and L3 (High risk).
Hence, as part of the alert handling/treatment process, there is no requirement for manual triaging since all alerts have been triaged by SAM into the aforementioned risk levels.
Faster time to market
SAM automatically builds a machine learning (ML) model that trains on customer data. The model result aligns with customer risk policy and data instead of a generic industry ML solution. The in-built Intelligent risk indicator framework automatically generates thousands of risk indicators (data science features) from input data.
An intelligent model learning framework then selects the most relevant risk indicators and chooses the right hyper-parameters to tune the model to achieve high accuracy at optimal compute cost. This is a fully automated process that requires minimal data science effort from the client team.
Continuous improvement
Through our Champion-Challenger which learns from investigator feedback and changing data, continuous improvement occurs systematically. It takes in incremental data, which includes new customers, accounts, transactions, and the latest investigator feedback, and provides consistent results through continuous learning.
Ease of integration into the current process governance
The module integrates seamlessly with the existing systems as well as the primary using standardized data models and ready adapters. Investigators can still use the existing workflow and click on the link to access alert information. This makes it easier to investigate and dispose of alerts faster.
Apart from AML solutions, what other financial crimes does Tookitaki solve?
Mr. Chatterjee: Tookitaki believes in giving back to society. We are on a mission to improve lives by tackling money laundering.
Crimes such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal arms deals, and many more are tied to money laundering. Vulnerable people are being affected daily by this corruption. We offer resources, information, and a strong commitment to helping eliminate money laundering and related crimes.
We have worked closely with the survivors of human trafficking to understand the patterns of behavior around these heinous crimes and determine how we can help tackle them. Our work in this endeavor is driven by a responsibility to help make the world a safer place for everyone.
We believe in using technology for the greater good. We want to lead from the front, where crimes such as trafficking and terrorism can be eliminated via the prevention of financial crime.
What are the factors you considered in choosing the Philippines to launch an AML software tool?
Mr. Chatterjee: With the rise of technology, the world is slowly shifting to cashless transactions. According to a study from 2020-2025, cashless transactions are expected to increase by 80% and cross border payments will be valued at $156 trillion. This borderless transaction increases money laundering crimes and allows money launderers to hide in plain sight undetected.
In the Philippines, half of Filipinos own a financial account, as more Filipinos become part of the banking system, financial crimes will become more advanced. Financial institutions need to look beyond traditional tools to solve a sophisticated and growing problem to keep pace with increasing business and regulatory requirements.
The Philippines is in a strategic position because of its rising economy and being the center of international trade and traffic makes it vulnerable to a host of financial crimes and financial terrorism. Moreover, the growing number of money transfers sent by overseas Filipino workers to their loved ones adds to the responsibility of the AMLS.
Do you have data on cases of money laundering in the country?
Mr. Chatterjee: The Anti Money Laundering Report states that the country has always been vulnerable when it comes to money laundering and financial terrorism. It is vital that the country address the growing problem.
What we’ve noticed is that the political landscape in the Philippines is ever-changing. In 2000, the Philippines was placed under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), falling under its list of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories due to lack of basic AML frameworks.
The Philippine government enacted Republic Act (RA) 9160 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, which preserved the integrity of bank accounts and ensured the Philippines does not become a haven for money laundering activities. As an added precaution, Philippine authorities will assist in transnational investigations to prosecute those found who are found guilty. Since then, in recent years, various laws have amended RA 9160 and various industries involving finances have been added to the existing laws as well as harsher sanctions for those found guilty of money laundering activities. Additional powers were also granted to the Anti-Money Laundering Council and other concerned persons.
The Philippines has returned to the “gray list” as of June 2021. The FATF has commended the country for its continuing efforts to eradicate the threats of money laundering and encourage the country to further strengthen its measures. And we as a trusted partner are pleased to assist the Philippine government with its goal of eradicating and eliminating financial terrorism, no country in the world should be a safe haven for criminals.
Financial institutions are inundated with voluminous false positives and case backlogs that add to costs and prevent them from filtering out high-quality alerts. How does your solution help address this problem?
Mr. Chatterjee: Tookitaki was a pioneer in identifying the use case of ML in AML compliance and our ideas came into reality with our historic partnership with the United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) in Singapore.
In December 2020, we became the first in the Asia-Pacific region to deploy a complete AML solution leveraging ML in production concurrently in transaction monitoring and name screening.
The SAM functionality of AMLS specifically helped with management and filtering of false alerts that eliminated the need for manual triaging since all alerts get triaged by SAM as per categorized risk levels, such as low, medium, and high. Ease of integration into their current process governance thereby making it easier for the investigators to investigate and dispose of alerts faster.
As a result, UOB witnessed 70% reduction in false positives for individual names and 60% reduction in false positives for corporate names. The solution also helped with a 50% reduction in false positives with less than 1% misclassification and 5% increase in fileable suspicious activity reports.
This is yet another example of how Tookitaki sets new standards for the regulatory compliance industry’s fight against money laundering.
We have partnered with well-known fintech companies in the Philippines to assist local companies to stay on top of their compliance requirements and we hope to expand our partnership with even more fintech companies in the future.
What do you think are the biggest risks faced by banks being used for money laundering and how do you plan to mitigate or eliminate these risks?
Mr. Chatterjee: Banks need to have a holistic view of money laundering risks and the threat scape across various banking segments such as corporate, retail, and private. Existing static and granular rules-based approaches, which are oblivious to the holistic trend with a narrow and uni-dimensional focus, are not capable of doing the same. Existing rules-based systems produced a significant volume of false positives. These false leads are a drain on productivity as they take significant time and resources to be disposed of. In the AML compliance space, banks are wasting more $3.5 billion per year chasing false leads because of outdated AML systems that rely on stale rules and scenarios and generate millions of false positives, according to research.
Undoubtedly, using limited resources to close off non-material and unimportant alerts is manual and onerous, resulting in huge backlogs for both processes and missed/delayed suspicious activity report filings. Furthermore, the ballooning costs of AML compliance coupled with the high volume of backlog alerts swamp compliance teams and potentially distract them from “true” high-risk events and customer circumstances.
Alert investigation becomes a time-consuming and labor-intensive affair as the compliance team spends significant time gathering data and analyzing it to differentiate illegitimate activities from legitimate ones. Disparate data sources and highly complex business processes add to the difficulty of the investigation team in analyzing the links between parties and transactions.
As mentioned earlier, Tookitaki’s AMLS includes transaction monitoring, smart screening, customer risk scoring, and case management, a centralized investigation solution.
Transaction monitoring looks for suspicious transactions across different systems. It unlocks the power of Tookitaki’s library of typologies to detect hidden suspicious patterns.
Tookitaki’s AMLS generates fewer alerts of higher quality and then segregates them into low, medium, or high-risk alerts so companies can prioritize their investigations. The AMLS also updates regularly to include new money laundering patterns.
Smart screening watches out for high-risk individuals and corporate customers. Tookitaki designed the name screening module to handle a wider range of complex name permutations. To reduce the number of undetermined hits, Tookitaki enriched the module with inference features and additional customer profile identifiers. Tookitaki’s name screening module also reduces false positives, which happens when AML software incorrectly flags a customer as high-risk.
The Customer Risk Scoring module empowers banks in reducing their cost of compliance by providing an actual consumer view. This is backed by dynamic risk assessment that is self-evolving based on consumers’ new financial patterns.
ML models, too, benefit AFC ecosystems. For one, it increases effectiveness in identifying suspicious activities due to its sharper focus on data anomalies rather than threshold triggering. ML models also allow for easier customization of data features to accurately target specific risks, as well as enable extended look-back periods to detect more complex scenarios.
Any other insights you’d like to share?
Mr. Chatterjee: The AFC Ecosystem is now live, which means it is now open to the broader public. The ecosystem has grown considerably over the past few months owing to the active contribution by the experts. The AFC Ecosystem is a strong testament to how technology contributes to the critical mission of helping financial services combat crime and the financing of terrorism. With the ecosystem being open to the public, an AFC Honoree Badge Program has been launched because we believe that together we can make a difference.
(As appeared on Business World)
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Stablecoins Are Booming. Is Compliance Falling Behind?
Programmable money isn’t a futuristic buzzword anymore — it’s here, and it’s scaling at breakneck speed. In 2024, stablecoin transactions exceeded $27 trillion, surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined. From international remittances to e-commerce, stablecoins are reshaping how money moves across borders.
But there’s a catch: the same features that make stablecoins so powerful — speed, cost efficiency, accessibility — also make them attractive for financial crime. Instant, irreversible, and identity-light transactions have created a compliance challenge unlike any before. For regulators, banks, and fintechs, the question is clear: can compliance scale as fast as stablecoins?
The Rise of Stablecoins: More Than Just Crypto
Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to a stable asset like the U.S. dollar or euro. Unlike Bitcoin or Ether, they aren’t designed for volatility — they’re designed for utility. That’s why they’ve become the backbone of digital payments and decentralised finance (DeFi).
- Cross-border remittances: Workers abroad can send money home cheaply and instantly.
- Trading and settlements: Exchanges use stablecoins as liquidity anchors.
- Merchant adoption: From small retailers to payment giants like PayPal (with its PYUSD stablecoin launched in 2023), stablecoin rails are entering mainstream commerce.
With global players like USDT (Tether) and USDC (Circle) dominating, and even central banks exploring CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), it’s clear stablecoins are no longer niche. They are programmable, scalable, and systemically important.
But scale brings scrutiny.
The Compliance Gap: Why Old Tools Don’t Work
Most financial institutions still rely on compliance infrastructure designed decades ago for slower, linear payment systems. Batch settlements, SWIFT messages, and pre-clearing windows gave compliance teams time to check, flag, or stop suspicious activity.
Stablecoins operate on entirely different principles:
- Real-time settlement: Transactions confirm in seconds.
- Pseudonymous wallets: No guaranteed link between a wallet and its true owner.
- DeFi composability: Funds can move through multiple protocols, contracts, and blockchains with no central chokepoint.
- Irreversibility: Once sent, funds can’t be clawed back.
This creates an environment where bad actors can launder funds at the speed of code. Legacy compliance systems — built for yesterday’s risks — simply cannot keep up.
The New Typologies Emerging on Stablecoin Rails
Financial crime doesn’t stand still. It adapts to new rails faster than regulation or compliance can. Here are some typologies unique to stablecoins:
- Money Mule Networks
Organised groups recruit international students or gig workers to act as “cash-out points,” moving illicit funds through stablecoin wallets before converting back to fiat. - Cross-Chain Laundering
Criminals exploit bridges between blockchains (e.g., Ethereum to Tron or Solana) to break traceability, making it harder to follow the money. This tactic was highlighted in multiple reports after North Korea’s Lazarus Group laundered hundreds of millions in stolen crypto across chains. - DeFi Layering
Funds are routed through decentralised exchanges, lending platforms, or automated market makers to mix flows and obscure origins. The U.S. Treasury’s sanctions on Tornado Cash in 2022 marked a watershed moment, underscoring how DeFi mixers can become systemic laundering tools. - Sanctions Evasion
With traditional banking rails restricted, sanctioned entities increasingly turn to stablecoins. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has flagged stablecoin usage in multiple enforcement actions tied to Russia and other high-risk jurisdictions.
Each of these typologies highlights the speed, complexity, and opacity of stablecoin-based laundering. They don’t look like traditional fiat red flags — they demand new methods of detection.
What Compliance Needs to Look Like for Stablecoins
To match the speed of programmable money, compliance must itself become programmable, adaptive, and dynamic. Static, rule-based systems are insufficient. Instead, compliance must shift to a risk infrastructure that is:
1. Risk-in-Motion Monitoring
Rather than flagging transactions after they settle, monitoring must happen in real time, detecting structuring, layering, and unusual flow patterns as they unfold.
2. Smart Sanctions & Wallet Screening
Name checks aren’t enough. Risk detection must consider wallet metadata, behavioural history, device intelligence, and network analysis to surface high-risk entities hidden behind pseudonyms.
3. Wallet Risk Scoring
A static “high-risk wallet list” doesn’t work in a world where wallets are created and discarded easily. Risk scoring must be dynamic and contextual, combining geolocation, device, transaction history, and counterparties into evolving risk profiles.
This is compliance at the speed of programmable money.
Tookitaki’s FinCense: Building the Trust Layer for Stablecoins
At Tookitaki, we’re not retrofitting legacy tools to fit this new world. We’re building the infrastructure-grade compliance layer programmable money deserves.
Here’s how FinCense powers trust on stablecoin rails:
- Risk-in-Motion Monitoring
Detects structuring, layering, and anomalous flows across chains in real time. - Smart Sanctions & Wallet Screening
Goes beyond simple lists, screening metadata, networks, and behavioural red flags. - Wallet Risk Scoring
Integrates device, location, and transaction intelligence to give every wallet a living, breathing risk profile. - Federated Intelligence from the AFC Ecosystem
Scenarios contributed by 200+ compliance experts worldwide enrich the system with the latest typologies. - Agentic AI for Investigations
Accelerates investigations with an AI copilot, surfacing insights and reducing false positives.
FinCense is modular, composable, and built for the future of programmable finance. Whether you’re a digital asset exchange, fintech, or bank integrating stablecoin rails, it enables you to operate with trust and resilience.
Conclusion: Scaling Trust with Stablecoins
Stablecoins are here to stay. They’re reshaping payments, cross-border transfers, and financial inclusion. But they’re also rewriting the rules of financial crime.
The next phase of growth won’t be defined by speed or accessibility alone — it will be defined by trust. And trust comes from compliance that can move as fast and adapt as dynamically as programmable money itself.
Stablecoins will define the next decade of finance. Whether they become rails for inclusion or loopholes for crime depends on how we build trust today. Tookitaki’s FinCense is here to make that trust possible.
Ferraris, Ghost Cars, and Dirty Money: Inside Australia’s 2025 Barangaroo Laundering Scandal
In July 2025, Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct became the unlikely stage for one of Australia’s most audacious money laundering cases. Beyond the headlines about Ferraris and luxury goods lies a sobering truth: criminals are still exploiting the blind spots in Australia’s financial crime defences.
A Case That Reads Like a Movie Script
On 30 July 2025, Australian police raided properties across Sydney and arrested two men—Bing “Michael” Li, 38, and Yizhe “Tony” He, 34.
Both men were charged with an astonishing 194 fraud-related offences. Li faces 87 charges tied to AUD 12.9 million, while He faces 107 charges tied to about AUD 4 million. Authorities also froze AUD 38 million worth of assets, including Bentleys, Ferraris, designer goods, and property leases.
At the heart of the case was a fraud and laundering scheme that funnelled stolen money into the high-end economy of cars, luxury fashion, and short-term property leases. Investigators dubbed them “ghost cars”—vehicles purchased as a way to obscure illicit funds.
It’s a tale that grabs attention for its glitz, but what really matters is the deeper lesson: Australia still has critical AML blind spots that criminals know how to exploit.
How the Syndicate Operated
The mechanics of the scheme reveal just how calculated it was:
- Rapid loan cycling: The accused are alleged to have obtained loans, often short-term, which were cycled quickly to create complex repayment patterns. This made tracing the origins of funds difficult.
- Luxury asset laundering: The money was used to purchase high-value cars (Ferraris, Bentleys, Mercedes) and designer items from brands like Louis Vuitton. Assets of prestige become a laundering tool, integrating dirty money into seemingly legitimate wealth.
- Property as camouflage: Short-term leases of expensive properties in Barangaroo and other high-end districts provided both a lifestyle cover and another channel to absorb illicit funds.
- Gatekeeper loopholes: Real estate agents, accountants, and luxury dealers in Australia are not yet fully bound by AML/CTF obligations. This gap created the perfect playground for laundering.
What’s striking is not the creativity of the scheme—it’s the simplicity. By targeting sectors without AML scrutiny, the syndicate turned everyday transactions into a pipeline for cleaning millions.
The Regulatory Gap
This case lands at a critical time. For years, Australia has been under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to extend AML/CTF laws to the so-called “gatekeeper professions”—real estate agents, accountants, lawyers, and dealers in high-value goods.
As of 2025, these obligations are still not fully in place. The expansion is only scheduled to take effect from July 2026. Until then, large swathes of the economy remain outside AUSTRAC’s oversight.
The Barangaroo arrests underscore what critics have long warned: criminals don’t wait for legislation. They are already steps ahead, embedding illicit funds into sectors that regulators have yet to fence off.
For businesses in real estate, luxury retail, and professional services, this case is more than a headline—it’s a wake-up call to prepare now, not later.
Why This Case Matters for Australia
The Barangaroo case isn’t just about two individuals—it highlights systemic vulnerabilities in the Australian financial ecosystem.
- Criminal Adaptation: Syndicates will always pivot to the weakest link. If banks tighten their checks, criminals move to less regulated industries.
- Erosion of Trust: When high-value markets become conduits for laundering, it damages Australia’s reputation as a clean, well-regulated financial hub.
- Compliance Risk: Businesses in these sectors risk being blindsided by new regulations if they don’t start implementing AML controls now.
- Global Implications: With assets like luxury cars and crypto being easy to move or sell internationally, local failures in AML quickly ripple across borders.
This isn’t an isolated story. It’s part of a broader trend where fraud, luxury assets, and regulatory lag intersect to create fertile ground for financial crime.
Lessons for Businesses
For financial institutions, fintechs, and gatekeeper industries, the Barangaroo case offers several practical takeaways:
- Monitor for rapid loan cycling: Short-term loans repaid unusually fast, or loans tied to sudden high-value purchases, should trigger alerts.
- Scrutinise asset purchases: Repeated luxury acquisitions, especially where the source of funds is vague, are classic laundering red flags.
- Don’t rely solely on regulation: Just because AML obligations aren’t mandatory yet doesn’t mean businesses can ignore risk. Voluntary adoption of AML best practices can prevent reputational damage.
- Collaborate cross-sector: Banks, real estate firms, and luxury dealers must share intelligence. Laundering rarely stays within one sector.
- Prepare for 2026: When the law expands, regulators will expect not just compliance but also readiness. Being proactive now can avoid penalties later.
How Tookitaki’s FinCense Can Help
The Barangaroo case demonstrates a truth that regulators and compliance teams already know: criminals are fast, and rules often move too slowly.
This is where FinCense, Tookitaki’s AI-powered compliance platform, makes the difference.
- Scenario-based Monitoring
FinCense doesn’t just look for generic suspicious behaviour—it monitors for specific typologies like “rapid loan cycling leading to high-value asset purchases.” These scenarios mirror real-world cases, allowing institutions to spot laundering patterns early. - Federated Intelligence
FinCense leverages insights from a global compliance community. A laundering method detected in one country can be quickly shared and simulated in others. If the Barangaroo pattern emerged elsewhere, FinCense could help Australian institutions adapt almost immediately. - Agentic AI for Real-Time Detection
Criminal tactics evolve constantly. FinCense’s Agentic AI ensures models don’t go stale—it adapts to new data, learns continuously, and responds to threats as they arise. That means institutions don’t wait months for rule updates; they act in real time. - End-to-End Compliance Coverage
From customer onboarding to transaction monitoring and investigation, FinCense provides a unified platform. For banks, this means capturing anomalies at multiple points, not just after funds have already flowed into cars and luxury handbags.
The result is a system that doesn’t just tick compliance boxes but actively prevents fraud and laundering—protecting both businesses and Australia’s reputation.
The Bigger Picture: Trust and Reputation
Australia has ambitions to strengthen its role as a regional financial hub. But trust is the currency that underpins global finance.
Cases like Barangaroo remind us that even one high-profile lapse can shake investor and customer confidence. With scams and laundering scandals making headlines globally—from Crown Resorts to major online frauds—Australia cannot afford to be reactive.
For businesses, the message is clear: compliance isn’t just about avoiding fines, it’s about protecting your licence to operate. Customers and partners expect vigilance, transparency, and accountability.
Conclusion: A Warning Shot
The Barangaroo “ghost cars and luxury laundering” saga is more than a crime story—it’s a preview of what happens when regulation lags and businesses underestimate financial crime risk.
With AUSTRAC set to extend AML coverage in 2026, industries like real estate and luxury retail must act now. Waiting until the law forces compliance could mean walking straight into reputational disaster.
For financial institutions and businesses alike, the smarter path is to embrace advanced solutions like Tookitaki’s FinCense, which combine scenario-driven intelligence with adaptive AI.
Because at the end of the day, Ferraris and Bentleys may be glamorous—but when they’re bought with dirty money, they carry a far higher cost.
Cracking Down Under: How Australia Is Fighting Back Against Fraud
Fraud in Australia has moved beyond stolen credit cards, today’s threats are smarter, faster, and often one step ahead.
Australia is facing a new wave of financial fraud—complex scams, cyber-enabled deception, and social engineering techniques that prey on trust. From sophisticated investment frauds to deepfake impersonations, criminals are evolving rapidly. And so must our fraud prevention strategies.
This blog explores how fraud is impacting Australia, what new methods criminals are using, and how financial institutions, businesses, and individuals can stay ahead of the game. Whether you're in compliance, fintech, banking, or just a concerned citizen, fraud prevention is everyone’s business.
The Fraud Landscape in Australia: A Wake-Up Call
In 2024 alone, Australians lost over AUD 2.7 billion to scams, according to data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The Scamwatch program reported an alarming rise in phishing, investment scams, identity theft, and fake billing.
A few alarming trends:
- Investment scams accounted for over AUD 1.3 billion in losses.
- Business email compromise (BEC) and invoice fraud targeted SMEs.
- Romance and remote access scams exploited personal vulnerability.
- Deepfake scams and AI-generated impersonations are on the rise, particularly targeting executives and finance teams.
The fraud threat has gone digital, cross-border, and real-time. Traditional controls alone are no longer enough.
Why Fraud Prevention Is a National Priority
Fraud isn't just a financial issue—it’s a matter of public trust. When scams go undetected, victims don’t just lose money—they lose faith in financial institutions, government systems, and digital innovation.
Here’s why fraud prevention is now top of mind in Australia:
- Real-time payments mean real-time risks: With the rise of the New Payments Platform (NPP), funds can move across banks instantly. This has increased the urgency to detect and prevent fraud in milliseconds—not days.
- Rise in money mule networks: Criminal groups are exploiting students, gig workers, and the elderly to launder stolen funds.
- Increased regulatory pressure: AUSTRAC and ASIC are putting more pressure on institutions to identify and report suspicious activities more proactively.
Common Fraud Techniques Seen in Australia
Understanding how fraud works is the first step to preventing it. Here are some of the most commonly observed fraud techniques:
a) Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Fraudsters impersonate vendors, CEOs, or finance officers to divert funds through fake invoices or urgent payment requests. This is especially dangerous for SMEs.
b) Investment Scams
Fake trading platforms, crypto Ponzi schemes, and fraudulent real estate investments have tricked thousands. Often, these scams use fake celebrity endorsements or “guaranteed returns” to lure victims.
c) Romance and Sextortion Scams
These scams manipulate victims emotionally, often over weeks or months, before asking for money. Some even involve blackmail using fake or stolen intimate content.
d) Deepfake Impersonation
Using AI-generated voice or video, scammers are impersonating real people to initiate fund transfers or manipulate staff into giving away sensitive information.
e) Synthetic Identity Fraud
Criminals use a blend of real and fake information to create a new, ‘clean’ identity that can bypass onboarding checks at banks and fintechs.
Regulatory Push for Smarter Controls
Regulators in Australia are stepping up their efforts:
- AUSTRAC has introduced updated guidance for transaction monitoring and suspicious matter reporting, pushing institutions to adopt more adaptive, risk-based approaches.
- ASIC is cracking down on investment scams and calling for platforms to implement stricter identity and payment verification systems.
- The ACCC’s National Anti-Scam Centre launched a multi-agency initiative to disrupt scam operations through intelligence sharing and faster response times.
But even regulators acknowledge: compliance alone won't stop fraud. Prevention needs smarter tools, better collaboration, and real-time intelligence.
A New Approach: Proactive, AI-Powered Fraud Prevention
The most forward-thinking banks and fintechs in Australia are moving from reactive to proactive fraud prevention. Here's what the shift looks like:
✅ Real-Time Transaction Monitoring
Instead of relying on static rules, modern systems use machine learning to flag suspicious behaviour—like unusual payment patterns, high-risk geographies, or rapid account-to-account transfers.
✅ Behavioural Analytics
Understanding what ‘normal’ looks like for each user helps detect anomalies fast—like a customer suddenly logging in from a new country or making a large transfer outside business hours.
✅ AI Copilots for Investigators
Tools like AI-powered investigation assistants can help analysts triage alerts faster, recommend next steps, and even generate narrative summaries for suspicious activity reports.
✅ Community Intelligence
Fraudsters often reuse tactics across institutions. Platforms like Tookitaki’s AFC Ecosystem allow banks to share anonymised fraud scenarios and red flags—so everyone can learn and defend together.
✅ Federated Learning Models
These models allow banks to collaborate on fraud detection algorithms without sharing customer data—bringing the power of collective intelligence without compromising privacy.
Fraud Prevention Best Practices for Australian Institutions
Whether you're a Tier-1 bank or a growing fintech, these best practices are critical:
- Prioritise real-time fraud detection tools that work across payment channels and digital platforms.
- Train your teams—fraudsters are exploiting human error more than technical flaws.
- Invest in explainable AI to build trust with regulators and internal stakeholders.
- Use layered defences: Combine transaction monitoring, device fingerprinting, behavioural analytics, and biometric verification.
- Collaborate across the ecosystem—join industry platforms, share intel, and learn from others.
How Tookitaki Supports Fraud Prevention in Australia
Tookitaki is helping Australian institutions stay ahead of fraud by combining advanced AI with collective intelligence. Our FinCense platform offers:
- End-to-end fraud and AML detection across transactions, customers, and devices.
- Federated learning that enables risk detection with insights contributed by a global network of financial crime experts.
- Smart investigation tools to reduce alert fatigue and speed up response times.
The Role of Public Awareness in Prevention
It’s not just institutions—customers play a key role too. Public campaigns like Scamwatch, educational content from banks, and media coverage of fraud trends all contribute to prevention.
Simple actions like verifying sender details, avoiding suspicious links, and reporting scam attempts can go a long way. In the fight against fraud, awareness is the first line of defence.
Conclusion: Staying Ahead in a Smarter Fraud Era
Fraud prevention in Australia can no longer be treated as an afterthought. The threats are too advanced, too fast, and too costly.
With the right mix of technology, collaboration, and education, Australia can stay ahead of financial criminals—and turn the tide in favour of consumers, businesses, and institutions alike.
Whether it’s adopting AI tools, sharing threat insights, or empowering individuals, fraud prevention is no longer optional. It’s the new frontline of trust.
Stablecoins Are Booming. Is Compliance Falling Behind?
Programmable money isn’t a futuristic buzzword anymore — it’s here, and it’s scaling at breakneck speed. In 2024, stablecoin transactions exceeded $27 trillion, surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined. From international remittances to e-commerce, stablecoins are reshaping how money moves across borders.
But there’s a catch: the same features that make stablecoins so powerful — speed, cost efficiency, accessibility — also make them attractive for financial crime. Instant, irreversible, and identity-light transactions have created a compliance challenge unlike any before. For regulators, banks, and fintechs, the question is clear: can compliance scale as fast as stablecoins?
The Rise of Stablecoins: More Than Just Crypto
Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to a stable asset like the U.S. dollar or euro. Unlike Bitcoin or Ether, they aren’t designed for volatility — they’re designed for utility. That’s why they’ve become the backbone of digital payments and decentralised finance (DeFi).
- Cross-border remittances: Workers abroad can send money home cheaply and instantly.
- Trading and settlements: Exchanges use stablecoins as liquidity anchors.
- Merchant adoption: From small retailers to payment giants like PayPal (with its PYUSD stablecoin launched in 2023), stablecoin rails are entering mainstream commerce.
With global players like USDT (Tether) and USDC (Circle) dominating, and even central banks exploring CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), it’s clear stablecoins are no longer niche. They are programmable, scalable, and systemically important.
But scale brings scrutiny.
The Compliance Gap: Why Old Tools Don’t Work
Most financial institutions still rely on compliance infrastructure designed decades ago for slower, linear payment systems. Batch settlements, SWIFT messages, and pre-clearing windows gave compliance teams time to check, flag, or stop suspicious activity.
Stablecoins operate on entirely different principles:
- Real-time settlement: Transactions confirm in seconds.
- Pseudonymous wallets: No guaranteed link between a wallet and its true owner.
- DeFi composability: Funds can move through multiple protocols, contracts, and blockchains with no central chokepoint.
- Irreversibility: Once sent, funds can’t be clawed back.
This creates an environment where bad actors can launder funds at the speed of code. Legacy compliance systems — built for yesterday’s risks — simply cannot keep up.
The New Typologies Emerging on Stablecoin Rails
Financial crime doesn’t stand still. It adapts to new rails faster than regulation or compliance can. Here are some typologies unique to stablecoins:
- Money Mule Networks
Organised groups recruit international students or gig workers to act as “cash-out points,” moving illicit funds through stablecoin wallets before converting back to fiat. - Cross-Chain Laundering
Criminals exploit bridges between blockchains (e.g., Ethereum to Tron or Solana) to break traceability, making it harder to follow the money. This tactic was highlighted in multiple reports after North Korea’s Lazarus Group laundered hundreds of millions in stolen crypto across chains. - DeFi Layering
Funds are routed through decentralised exchanges, lending platforms, or automated market makers to mix flows and obscure origins. The U.S. Treasury’s sanctions on Tornado Cash in 2022 marked a watershed moment, underscoring how DeFi mixers can become systemic laundering tools. - Sanctions Evasion
With traditional banking rails restricted, sanctioned entities increasingly turn to stablecoins. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has flagged stablecoin usage in multiple enforcement actions tied to Russia and other high-risk jurisdictions.
Each of these typologies highlights the speed, complexity, and opacity of stablecoin-based laundering. They don’t look like traditional fiat red flags — they demand new methods of detection.
What Compliance Needs to Look Like for Stablecoins
To match the speed of programmable money, compliance must itself become programmable, adaptive, and dynamic. Static, rule-based systems are insufficient. Instead, compliance must shift to a risk infrastructure that is:
1. Risk-in-Motion Monitoring
Rather than flagging transactions after they settle, monitoring must happen in real time, detecting structuring, layering, and unusual flow patterns as they unfold.
2. Smart Sanctions & Wallet Screening
Name checks aren’t enough. Risk detection must consider wallet metadata, behavioural history, device intelligence, and network analysis to surface high-risk entities hidden behind pseudonyms.
3. Wallet Risk Scoring
A static “high-risk wallet list” doesn’t work in a world where wallets are created and discarded easily. Risk scoring must be dynamic and contextual, combining geolocation, device, transaction history, and counterparties into evolving risk profiles.
This is compliance at the speed of programmable money.
Tookitaki’s FinCense: Building the Trust Layer for Stablecoins
At Tookitaki, we’re not retrofitting legacy tools to fit this new world. We’re building the infrastructure-grade compliance layer programmable money deserves.
Here’s how FinCense powers trust on stablecoin rails:
- Risk-in-Motion Monitoring
Detects structuring, layering, and anomalous flows across chains in real time. - Smart Sanctions & Wallet Screening
Goes beyond simple lists, screening metadata, networks, and behavioural red flags. - Wallet Risk Scoring
Integrates device, location, and transaction intelligence to give every wallet a living, breathing risk profile. - Federated Intelligence from the AFC Ecosystem
Scenarios contributed by 200+ compliance experts worldwide enrich the system with the latest typologies. - Agentic AI for Investigations
Accelerates investigations with an AI copilot, surfacing insights and reducing false positives.
FinCense is modular, composable, and built for the future of programmable finance. Whether you’re a digital asset exchange, fintech, or bank integrating stablecoin rails, it enables you to operate with trust and resilience.
Conclusion: Scaling Trust with Stablecoins
Stablecoins are here to stay. They’re reshaping payments, cross-border transfers, and financial inclusion. But they’re also rewriting the rules of financial crime.
The next phase of growth won’t be defined by speed or accessibility alone — it will be defined by trust. And trust comes from compliance that can move as fast and adapt as dynamically as programmable money itself.
Stablecoins will define the next decade of finance. Whether they become rails for inclusion or loopholes for crime depends on how we build trust today. Tookitaki’s FinCense is here to make that trust possible.
Ferraris, Ghost Cars, and Dirty Money: Inside Australia’s 2025 Barangaroo Laundering Scandal
In July 2025, Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct became the unlikely stage for one of Australia’s most audacious money laundering cases. Beyond the headlines about Ferraris and luxury goods lies a sobering truth: criminals are still exploiting the blind spots in Australia’s financial crime defences.
A Case That Reads Like a Movie Script
On 30 July 2025, Australian police raided properties across Sydney and arrested two men—Bing “Michael” Li, 38, and Yizhe “Tony” He, 34.
Both men were charged with an astonishing 194 fraud-related offences. Li faces 87 charges tied to AUD 12.9 million, while He faces 107 charges tied to about AUD 4 million. Authorities also froze AUD 38 million worth of assets, including Bentleys, Ferraris, designer goods, and property leases.
At the heart of the case was a fraud and laundering scheme that funnelled stolen money into the high-end economy of cars, luxury fashion, and short-term property leases. Investigators dubbed them “ghost cars”—vehicles purchased as a way to obscure illicit funds.
It’s a tale that grabs attention for its glitz, but what really matters is the deeper lesson: Australia still has critical AML blind spots that criminals know how to exploit.
How the Syndicate Operated
The mechanics of the scheme reveal just how calculated it was:
- Rapid loan cycling: The accused are alleged to have obtained loans, often short-term, which were cycled quickly to create complex repayment patterns. This made tracing the origins of funds difficult.
- Luxury asset laundering: The money was used to purchase high-value cars (Ferraris, Bentleys, Mercedes) and designer items from brands like Louis Vuitton. Assets of prestige become a laundering tool, integrating dirty money into seemingly legitimate wealth.
- Property as camouflage: Short-term leases of expensive properties in Barangaroo and other high-end districts provided both a lifestyle cover and another channel to absorb illicit funds.
- Gatekeeper loopholes: Real estate agents, accountants, and luxury dealers in Australia are not yet fully bound by AML/CTF obligations. This gap created the perfect playground for laundering.
What’s striking is not the creativity of the scheme—it’s the simplicity. By targeting sectors without AML scrutiny, the syndicate turned everyday transactions into a pipeline for cleaning millions.
The Regulatory Gap
This case lands at a critical time. For years, Australia has been under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to extend AML/CTF laws to the so-called “gatekeeper professions”—real estate agents, accountants, lawyers, and dealers in high-value goods.
As of 2025, these obligations are still not fully in place. The expansion is only scheduled to take effect from July 2026. Until then, large swathes of the economy remain outside AUSTRAC’s oversight.
The Barangaroo arrests underscore what critics have long warned: criminals don’t wait for legislation. They are already steps ahead, embedding illicit funds into sectors that regulators have yet to fence off.
For businesses in real estate, luxury retail, and professional services, this case is more than a headline—it’s a wake-up call to prepare now, not later.
Why This Case Matters for Australia
The Barangaroo case isn’t just about two individuals—it highlights systemic vulnerabilities in the Australian financial ecosystem.
- Criminal Adaptation: Syndicates will always pivot to the weakest link. If banks tighten their checks, criminals move to less regulated industries.
- Erosion of Trust: When high-value markets become conduits for laundering, it damages Australia’s reputation as a clean, well-regulated financial hub.
- Compliance Risk: Businesses in these sectors risk being blindsided by new regulations if they don’t start implementing AML controls now.
- Global Implications: With assets like luxury cars and crypto being easy to move or sell internationally, local failures in AML quickly ripple across borders.
This isn’t an isolated story. It’s part of a broader trend where fraud, luxury assets, and regulatory lag intersect to create fertile ground for financial crime.
Lessons for Businesses
For financial institutions, fintechs, and gatekeeper industries, the Barangaroo case offers several practical takeaways:
- Monitor for rapid loan cycling: Short-term loans repaid unusually fast, or loans tied to sudden high-value purchases, should trigger alerts.
- Scrutinise asset purchases: Repeated luxury acquisitions, especially where the source of funds is vague, are classic laundering red flags.
- Don’t rely solely on regulation: Just because AML obligations aren’t mandatory yet doesn’t mean businesses can ignore risk. Voluntary adoption of AML best practices can prevent reputational damage.
- Collaborate cross-sector: Banks, real estate firms, and luxury dealers must share intelligence. Laundering rarely stays within one sector.
- Prepare for 2026: When the law expands, regulators will expect not just compliance but also readiness. Being proactive now can avoid penalties later.
How Tookitaki’s FinCense Can Help
The Barangaroo case demonstrates a truth that regulators and compliance teams already know: criminals are fast, and rules often move too slowly.
This is where FinCense, Tookitaki’s AI-powered compliance platform, makes the difference.
- Scenario-based Monitoring
FinCense doesn’t just look for generic suspicious behaviour—it monitors for specific typologies like “rapid loan cycling leading to high-value asset purchases.” These scenarios mirror real-world cases, allowing institutions to spot laundering patterns early. - Federated Intelligence
FinCense leverages insights from a global compliance community. A laundering method detected in one country can be quickly shared and simulated in others. If the Barangaroo pattern emerged elsewhere, FinCense could help Australian institutions adapt almost immediately. - Agentic AI for Real-Time Detection
Criminal tactics evolve constantly. FinCense’s Agentic AI ensures models don’t go stale—it adapts to new data, learns continuously, and responds to threats as they arise. That means institutions don’t wait months for rule updates; they act in real time. - End-to-End Compliance Coverage
From customer onboarding to transaction monitoring and investigation, FinCense provides a unified platform. For banks, this means capturing anomalies at multiple points, not just after funds have already flowed into cars and luxury handbags.
The result is a system that doesn’t just tick compliance boxes but actively prevents fraud and laundering—protecting both businesses and Australia’s reputation.
The Bigger Picture: Trust and Reputation
Australia has ambitions to strengthen its role as a regional financial hub. But trust is the currency that underpins global finance.
Cases like Barangaroo remind us that even one high-profile lapse can shake investor and customer confidence. With scams and laundering scandals making headlines globally—from Crown Resorts to major online frauds—Australia cannot afford to be reactive.
For businesses, the message is clear: compliance isn’t just about avoiding fines, it’s about protecting your licence to operate. Customers and partners expect vigilance, transparency, and accountability.
Conclusion: A Warning Shot
The Barangaroo “ghost cars and luxury laundering” saga is more than a crime story—it’s a preview of what happens when regulation lags and businesses underestimate financial crime risk.
With AUSTRAC set to extend AML coverage in 2026, industries like real estate and luxury retail must act now. Waiting until the law forces compliance could mean walking straight into reputational disaster.
For financial institutions and businesses alike, the smarter path is to embrace advanced solutions like Tookitaki’s FinCense, which combine scenario-driven intelligence with adaptive AI.
Because at the end of the day, Ferraris and Bentleys may be glamorous—but when they’re bought with dirty money, they carry a far higher cost.
Cracking Down Under: How Australia Is Fighting Back Against Fraud
Fraud in Australia has moved beyond stolen credit cards, today’s threats are smarter, faster, and often one step ahead.
Australia is facing a new wave of financial fraud—complex scams, cyber-enabled deception, and social engineering techniques that prey on trust. From sophisticated investment frauds to deepfake impersonations, criminals are evolving rapidly. And so must our fraud prevention strategies.
This blog explores how fraud is impacting Australia, what new methods criminals are using, and how financial institutions, businesses, and individuals can stay ahead of the game. Whether you're in compliance, fintech, banking, or just a concerned citizen, fraud prevention is everyone’s business.
The Fraud Landscape in Australia: A Wake-Up Call
In 2024 alone, Australians lost over AUD 2.7 billion to scams, according to data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The Scamwatch program reported an alarming rise in phishing, investment scams, identity theft, and fake billing.
A few alarming trends:
- Investment scams accounted for over AUD 1.3 billion in losses.
- Business email compromise (BEC) and invoice fraud targeted SMEs.
- Romance and remote access scams exploited personal vulnerability.
- Deepfake scams and AI-generated impersonations are on the rise, particularly targeting executives and finance teams.
The fraud threat has gone digital, cross-border, and real-time. Traditional controls alone are no longer enough.
Why Fraud Prevention Is a National Priority
Fraud isn't just a financial issue—it’s a matter of public trust. When scams go undetected, victims don’t just lose money—they lose faith in financial institutions, government systems, and digital innovation.
Here’s why fraud prevention is now top of mind in Australia:
- Real-time payments mean real-time risks: With the rise of the New Payments Platform (NPP), funds can move across banks instantly. This has increased the urgency to detect and prevent fraud in milliseconds—not days.
- Rise in money mule networks: Criminal groups are exploiting students, gig workers, and the elderly to launder stolen funds.
- Increased regulatory pressure: AUSTRAC and ASIC are putting more pressure on institutions to identify and report suspicious activities more proactively.
Common Fraud Techniques Seen in Australia
Understanding how fraud works is the first step to preventing it. Here are some of the most commonly observed fraud techniques:
a) Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Fraudsters impersonate vendors, CEOs, or finance officers to divert funds through fake invoices or urgent payment requests. This is especially dangerous for SMEs.
b) Investment Scams
Fake trading platforms, crypto Ponzi schemes, and fraudulent real estate investments have tricked thousands. Often, these scams use fake celebrity endorsements or “guaranteed returns” to lure victims.
c) Romance and Sextortion Scams
These scams manipulate victims emotionally, often over weeks or months, before asking for money. Some even involve blackmail using fake or stolen intimate content.
d) Deepfake Impersonation
Using AI-generated voice or video, scammers are impersonating real people to initiate fund transfers or manipulate staff into giving away sensitive information.
e) Synthetic Identity Fraud
Criminals use a blend of real and fake information to create a new, ‘clean’ identity that can bypass onboarding checks at banks and fintechs.
Regulatory Push for Smarter Controls
Regulators in Australia are stepping up their efforts:
- AUSTRAC has introduced updated guidance for transaction monitoring and suspicious matter reporting, pushing institutions to adopt more adaptive, risk-based approaches.
- ASIC is cracking down on investment scams and calling for platforms to implement stricter identity and payment verification systems.
- The ACCC’s National Anti-Scam Centre launched a multi-agency initiative to disrupt scam operations through intelligence sharing and faster response times.
But even regulators acknowledge: compliance alone won't stop fraud. Prevention needs smarter tools, better collaboration, and real-time intelligence.
A New Approach: Proactive, AI-Powered Fraud Prevention
The most forward-thinking banks and fintechs in Australia are moving from reactive to proactive fraud prevention. Here's what the shift looks like:
✅ Real-Time Transaction Monitoring
Instead of relying on static rules, modern systems use machine learning to flag suspicious behaviour—like unusual payment patterns, high-risk geographies, or rapid account-to-account transfers.
✅ Behavioural Analytics
Understanding what ‘normal’ looks like for each user helps detect anomalies fast—like a customer suddenly logging in from a new country or making a large transfer outside business hours.
✅ AI Copilots for Investigators
Tools like AI-powered investigation assistants can help analysts triage alerts faster, recommend next steps, and even generate narrative summaries for suspicious activity reports.
✅ Community Intelligence
Fraudsters often reuse tactics across institutions. Platforms like Tookitaki’s AFC Ecosystem allow banks to share anonymised fraud scenarios and red flags—so everyone can learn and defend together.
✅ Federated Learning Models
These models allow banks to collaborate on fraud detection algorithms without sharing customer data—bringing the power of collective intelligence without compromising privacy.
Fraud Prevention Best Practices for Australian Institutions
Whether you're a Tier-1 bank or a growing fintech, these best practices are critical:
- Prioritise real-time fraud detection tools that work across payment channels and digital platforms.
- Train your teams—fraudsters are exploiting human error more than technical flaws.
- Invest in explainable AI to build trust with regulators and internal stakeholders.
- Use layered defences: Combine transaction monitoring, device fingerprinting, behavioural analytics, and biometric verification.
- Collaborate across the ecosystem—join industry platforms, share intel, and learn from others.
How Tookitaki Supports Fraud Prevention in Australia
Tookitaki is helping Australian institutions stay ahead of fraud by combining advanced AI with collective intelligence. Our FinCense platform offers:
- End-to-end fraud and AML detection across transactions, customers, and devices.
- Federated learning that enables risk detection with insights contributed by a global network of financial crime experts.
- Smart investigation tools to reduce alert fatigue and speed up response times.
The Role of Public Awareness in Prevention
It’s not just institutions—customers play a key role too. Public campaigns like Scamwatch, educational content from banks, and media coverage of fraud trends all contribute to prevention.
Simple actions like verifying sender details, avoiding suspicious links, and reporting scam attempts can go a long way. In the fight against fraud, awareness is the first line of defence.
Conclusion: Staying Ahead in a Smarter Fraud Era
Fraud prevention in Australia can no longer be treated as an afterthought. The threats are too advanced, too fast, and too costly.
With the right mix of technology, collaboration, and education, Australia can stay ahead of financial criminals—and turn the tide in favour of consumers, businesses, and institutions alike.
Whether it’s adopting AI tools, sharing threat insights, or empowering individuals, fraud prevention is no longer optional. It’s the new frontline of trust.