Perth Mint to be brought under tighter Government control following series of scandals

[Pelican Press 0]

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Perth Mint to be brought under tighter Government control following series of scandals

The Gold Corporation — which oversees the scandal-plagued Perth Mint — will be brought in-house, giving the State Government greater control of operations and spending.

The move follows explosive ABC revelations last year, in which the Mint had sold $27,000 worth of gold to former Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms Dayne Brajkovich.

No questions were asked of the underworld figure — who has been jailed for ***** offences and convicted of ******** and being armed in public — despite the mint being required to undertake checks of customers deemed “high risk”.

Camera IconFormer bikie Dayne Brajkovich waits to purchase gold at the Perth Mint. Credit: ABC/ABC

It was also revealed the mint had sold diluted bullion to China between 2018 and 2021, a scandal former Premier Mark McGowan infamously referred to as a “storm in a f…ing teacup” on a hot mic.

Mines Minister David Michael told parliament on Tuesday that the Government would introduce legislation to bring Gold Corp — which employs about 700 people — into line with other Government Trading Organisations.

The Mint, which recently celebrated its 125th birthday, was brought under the control of Gold Corp via specific legislation passed in the 1980s.

Mr Michael said applying the Government Trading Enterprise Act to Gold Corp would require approval from the mines minister and treasurer to “undertake significant transactions for new subsidiaries and dispose of significant assets.”

“These changes will limit the nature and extent of business activities the corporation can undertake without government approval, thereby providing greater oversight,” he said.

“The Government ******** committed to continuing ownership of the Perth Mint while strengthening its governance and oversight.”

Mr Michael said work on legislation was already underway, with the bill set to form part of a backlog of legislation ahead of an election in March of next year.

AUSTRAC — the nation’s independent regulator of financial institutions — previously accepted an enforceable undertaking from Gold Corp to improve its compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws after it identified non-compliance.

Mr Michael said Gold Corp was addressing “historical non-compliance issues” and was on track to deliver its $34 million Anti-Money Laundering Remediation Program by April 2025.

Premier Roger Cook said Tuesday in parliament that AUSTRAC did not impose fines and that no findings of criminality had been made.

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