Stored-value cards are highly vulnerable to exploitation by foreign fighters and criminals, Austrac warns
Australian militants are using readily available travel and gift cards to travel to Middle East conflict zones and bankroll terrorist attacks, an intelligence agency report has found.
More than 10m “stored-value cards” are active in Australia – worth more than $1.5bn – and are highly vulnerable to criminal exploitation, the report by Austrac said.
“In Australia, foreign fighters have used SVCs to fund their terrorist activity before and after departure to the conflict zone, and have been used to facilitate money laundering and cyber-enabled fraud,” the justice minister, Michael Keenan, said on Tuesday.
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