28 August 2012 7:09am

Trade-based money laundering is a significant concern for Australian law enforcement agencies.

Terry Simmonds, intelligence manager at the New South Wales Crime Commission, said the practice could be far more widespread than was currently realised. He urged reporting entities to submit reports on suspicious matter to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre whenever something did not sound quite right.

Trade-based money laundering involves the trade of goods and services, rather than cash, to launder the proceeds of crime. The term covers a range of practices,...