After reviewing the country's major banks, the Australian Financial Crimes Supervisory Authority found that the scale of an organized mortgage fraud could be as high as hundreds of millions of Australian dollars. The Australian Trade Report and Analysis Centre said in a statement on Wednesday that the investigation found misrepresentation of income, falsification of employment information, and falsification of business activities in loan applications. The analysis covered 10 banks and found some cases where offshore funds were used to complete real estate deliveries and home mortgage repayments. The survey results highlight the loopholes in Australia's $2.5 trillion home loan market. Brendan Thomas, CEO of Austrac, said: “Although the project found no evidence of widespread money laundering, the loopholes it revealed could be exploited by criminals trying to abuse the Australian financial system.” Thomas said, “The scale of this type of activity should be a wake-up call for all lenders. We've all found the same warning signs in banks that cover the vast majority of Australia's home mortgage market.”

After reviewing the country's major banks, the Australian Financial Crimes Supervisory Authority found that the scale of an organized mortgage fraud could be as high as hundreds of millions of Australian dollars. The Australian Trade Report and Analysis Centre said in a statement on Wednesday that the investigation found misrepresentation of income, falsification of employment information, and falsification of business activities in loan applications. The analysis covered 10 banks and found some cases where offshore funds were used to complete real estate deliveries and home mortgage repayments. The survey results highlight the loopholes in Australia's $2.5 trillion home loan market. Brendan Thomas, CEO of Austrac, said: “Although the project found no evidence of widespread money laundering, the loopholes it revealed could be exploited by criminals trying to abuse the Australian financial system.” Thomas said, “The scale of this type of activity should be a wake-up call for all lenders. We've all found the same warning signs in banks that cover the vast majority of Australia's home mortgage market.”