Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988

PART III - ACCOUNTS  

SECTION 24   OPENING ACCOUNT ETC. IN FALSE NAME  

24(1)    
A person shall not open an account with a cash dealer in a false name.

24(2)    
A person shall not operate an account with a cash dealer in a false name.

24(2A)    

A person must not operate, or authorise the operation of, an account with a cash dealer if the account is in a false name.

24(3)    
Where a person is commonly known by 2 or more different names, the person shall not use one of those names in opening an account with a cash dealer unless the person has previously disclosed the other name or names to the cash dealer.

24(4)    
Where a person is commonly known by 2 or more different names, the person shall not use one of those names in operating an account with a cash dealer unless the person has previously disclosed the other name or names to the cash dealer.

24(5)    

Where a person using a particular name in dealings with a cash dealer discloses to the dealer a different name or different names by which the person is commonly known, the dealer shall make a record of the disclosure and shall, upon request in writing from the AUSTRAC CEO, give the AUSTRAC CEO a copy of that record.

24(6)    

A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2), (2A), (3), (4) or (5) commits an offence against this subsection punishable, upon conviction, by imprisonment for not more than 2 years.

Note:

Subsection 4B(2) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose in respect of an offence an appropriate fine instead of, or in addition to, a term of imprisonment. The maximum fine that a court can impose on an individual is worked out by multiplying the maximum term of imprisonment (in months) by 5, and then multiplying the resulting number by the amount of a penalty unit. The amount of a penalty unit is stated in section 4AA of that Act. If a body corporate is convicted of an offence, subsection 4B(3) of that Act allows a court to impose a fine that is not greater than 5 times the maximum fine that could be imposed by the court on an individual convicted of the same offence.

24(7)    

For the purposes of this section:

(a) a person opens an account in a false name if the person, in opening the account, or becoming a signatory to the account, uses a name other than a name by which the person is commonly known; and

(b) a person operates an account in a false name if the person does any act or thing in relation to the account (whether by way of making a deposit or withdrawal or by way of communication with the cash dealer concerned or otherwise) and, in doing so, uses a name other than a name by which the person is commonly known; and

(c) an account is in a false name if it was opened in a false name, whether before or after the commencement of this paragraph.

24(8)    

This section does not apply in relation to a person and an account that is an RSA within the meaning of the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997 if:

(a) the person (the employer ) is an employer, within the meaning of that Act, of another person (the employee ); and

(b) the employer made the application for the account on behalf of the employee.

24(9)    

This section does not apply in relation to the opening of an account if the account is opened after the commencement of Division 1 of Part 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 in circumstances that amount to the provision of a designated service.

24(10)    

This section does not apply in relation to the operation of an account after the commencement of Division 1 of Part 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006 if:

(a) the account was opened in circumstances that amount to the provision of a designated service; or

(b) allowing a transaction in relation to the account would amount to the provision of a designated service.