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The Lucky Laundry
How the Aussie economy got hooked on the world's dirtiest cash.
Longlisted for a 2022 Walkley Award and earning the author the 2022 Financial Crime Fighter Award.
In today's ruthless world of organised crime, the best criminals aren't foolish enough to steal money out of banks. They wear tailored suits, carry briefcases, and discreetly slip money into banks.
Bigwigs, oligarchs and crime syndicates running drugs, trafficking guns and people, arming terrorists and subverting government controls are desperate to put a legitimate face on their wealth. Washing dirty money, moving it around the globe, making it look legitimate is where the action is for both criminals and the authorities chasing them.
Australia is awash with dirty money. It flows through our economy, keeps banks running, powers big business, puts coffee on restaurant tables, seeps into clubs, pubs, sport, the art world and anywhere that value is moved. It infiltrates real estate, costs billions in policing, and takes a terrible toll on Australian lives. What law enforcement agencies might lack in legislation and political will they make up for with sheer resourcefulness. When they can't get at the masterminds and bigwigs, they have honed tactics that intercept the flow of illicit cash and aim to drive a wedge between crooks and their ill-gotten wealth.
In The Lucky Laundry, financial crime expert Nathan Lynch delves deep inside this hidden world to explain how dark money has infected the lives of ordinary people - and tainted Australian democracy. He opens the curtain on the hidden world of financial intelligence, where crooks and spooks play a cat-and-mouse game inside the world's black money markets.
Enter the realm of the agents and undercover operatives who defend our democracy against the corrosive force of billions of dirty dollars.
Longlisted for a 2022 Walkley Award and earning the author the 2022 Financial Crime Fighter Award.
In today's ruthless world of organised crime, the best criminals aren't foolish enough to steal money out of banks. They wear tailored suits, carry briefcases, and discreetly slip money into banks.
Bigwigs, oligarchs and crime syndicates running drugs, trafficking guns and people, arming terrorists and subverting government controls are desperate to put a legitimate face on their wealth. Washing dirty money, moving it around the globe, making it look legitimate is where the action is for both criminals and the authorities chasing them.
Australia is awash with dirty money. It flows through our economy, keeps banks running, powers big business, puts coffee on restaurant tables, seeps into clubs, pubs, sport, the art world and anywhere that value is moved. It infiltrates real estate, costs billions in policing, and takes a terrible toll on Australian lives. What law enforcement agencies might lack in legislation and political will they make up for with sheer resourcefulness. When they can't get at the masterminds and bigwigs, they have honed tactics that intercept the flow of illicit cash and aim to drive a wedge between crooks and their ill-gotten wealth.
In The Lucky Laundry, financial crime expert Nathan Lynch delves deep inside this hidden world to explain how dark money has infected the lives of ordinary people - and tainted Australian democracy. He opens the curtain on the hidden world of financial intelligence, where crooks and spooks play a cat-and-mouse game inside the world's black money markets.
Enter the realm of the agents and undercover operatives who defend our democracy against the corrosive force of billions of dirty dollars.
- GenresNonfictionAustralia
347 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 15, 2022
29 people are currently reading
190 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 20, 2023
This book really needed a good editor to cut it down to half. The topic is very interesting, and kudos to the author for gathering all that information… but damn, the writing is excruciatingly wordy. So many times I wanted to scream “get to the point already”. Could have been a bestseller with appropriate editing. What a shame.
August 7, 2022
This was an interesting, but disturbing read about money laundering in Australia.
July 1, 2023
Based on the reporting of journalist Nathan Lynch this book outlines all the ways that Australia has been and still is a money laundering paradise.
The topic had me hooked. The book is interesting and I highly recommend it to anyone open to seeing Australia in a new light.
I marked this down for poor structure, lack of referencing, confusing timelines and lack of story arc. I found myself googling a lot to realise what decade I was in. This tabloid-y style works well in newspaper columns but needs a bit of tightening up for this format.
The complete lack of references was alarming. While there is a view that referencing puts readers off, at least a Note on Sources would be helpful to assist readers to verify matters in the book if they wish. We can't all be Patrick Radden Keefe but he would've been a great reference to study to get this excellent topic on track.
The topic had me hooked. The book is interesting and I highly recommend it to anyone open to seeing Australia in a new light.
I marked this down for poor structure, lack of referencing, confusing timelines and lack of story arc. I found myself googling a lot to realise what decade I was in. This tabloid-y style works well in newspaper columns but needs a bit of tightening up for this format.
The complete lack of references was alarming. While there is a view that referencing puts readers off, at least a Note on Sources would be helpful to assist readers to verify matters in the book if they wish. We can't all be Patrick Radden Keefe but he would've been a great reference to study to get this excellent topic on track.
August 10, 2022
As someone in the industry I was interested to get deeper insights into some of the stories behind the headlines from Australia over recent years. Nathan did a great job of brining to life the problems, the symptoms, the impacts on the general population of Australia, the individuals tirelessly trying to make a difference and the global nature of the challenge. He does so through a writing style which makes it very easy to read, without glossing over the dark trade and predicate offences which generate the obscene amounts of money being laundered.
July 2, 2022
Housing is unaffordable in Australia for a reason. The reason is we are the best country to wash dirty money dripping with drugs, corruption and murder. Recommend for anyone interested in law reform and public policy in Australia.
November 18, 2022
NOVEMBER
by Nathan Lynch (no photo)Finish date: November 2022
Genre: nonfiction (333 pg)
Rating: A
Review: The Lucky Laundry (ISBN: 9781460759912)
Good news: Thanks to Nathan Lynch a dogged and intrepid financial investigator...we learn that not only are there brushfires in the Australian outback...but also at the most profitable bank in the country: CBA (CommBank). Corporate heads roll and in 2018 CommBank agree to $700m to settle civil proceedings relating to breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. Who can you trust...if you can't trust your bank!
Good news: Learned 3 easiest ways to launder money!
1. a legitimate business and declare the dirty money as revenue.
2. buy real estate using obfuscatory legal mechanisms.
3. But the easiest is through gambling.
Laundering money in a casino is surprisingly simple. Walk in with a bag of “dirty” cash. Convert it into chips. Play for a while – win a bit, lose a bit – then cash out. So... now you know!
Bad news: In the beginning the book does not “read like a novel” but don't stop reading! Chapter 12 is when the human side is exposed...and sparks start to fly! Two first generation migrant men face-off at a Sydney boardroom table. One is the head of AUSTRAC responsible for preventing, detecting and responding to criminal abuse of the financial system and the other head of Australian's most powerful bank. We learn how their migrant backrounds intertwine!
Good news: Lynch explains the nuts and bolts of the criminal network and who the winners and losers are in these schemes. Australia is known as one of the BEST multi-billion -dollar washhouses. A lucrative business “professional money launderer”…..but your life could be snuffed out very easily if you cross the line with the “big guys” in the business!
This book is very interesting because it tears the curtain away and we see what happens when the “criminal money wizards” are at work!
Personal: The 'hook" is the first few chapters about Asian money laundering in Australia from China or Viet Nam. Fascinating info! But the book gets even better when a powerful bank is brought too its knees! 778,370 CommBank customer accounts were not properly monitored for three years and that some accounts were not even monitored after they were suspected of being used for money laundering. OUCH!
Strong point: Nathan Lynch has highlighted financial crime without making the narrative textbook dull. We learn about the high rollers who gamble rashly for high stakes (criminals)...or gamble for high profits for shareholders (bankers). #SuperInteresting
August 14, 2022
Lynch provides a detailed insight into the recent AML/CTF failings within Australia. It’s a very informative book that is hard to put down. I look forward to reading Lynch’s future books!
July 31, 2022
Some fascinating information here, particularly on the buyout of Bankwest and the AML travails of Westpac and CBA. However, the writing was a little "tabloid" for me and I lost interest whenever the story ventured overseas.
December 27, 2022
This is an eye-opening review of the weaknesses in Australia’s approach to money laundering. It spans from the street-level washing of drug money (through pokies, casinos, and real estate) to the top of government and corporates (billion dollar settlements between AUSTRAC and Commonwealth Bank as well as Westpac). There is a forensic and well-written account of cutting-edge investigations, across the Australian Federal Police and Financial Intelligence Units in other countries, along with innovative collaborations (between private and public sectors)…
Following passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act in 2006, our country has dropped the ball on implementation of the second tranche of these measures. Lynch puts a spotlight on the facilitators of money laundering – real estate agents, accountants, and lawyers.
Amongst the many heroes in this book, Paul Jevtovic stands out. He courageously led AUSTRAC as CEO during the Commonwealth Bank enforcement.
Lynch delivers uncomfortable home truths about the property price bubble in Australia. He pulls no punches, with a casual narrative style that’s dotted with humour and humanity.
Released in June 2022, including an excellent author discussion with Michael West at the Canberra Writers Festival:
https://michaelwest.com.au/national-p...
I was gripped by this book, and barely put it down while reading the entire 340 pages. With the ASIC prosecution of Star directors and officers, this book is well worth a summer read (especially by company directors and executives)…
Following passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act in 2006, our country has dropped the ball on implementation of the second tranche of these measures. Lynch puts a spotlight on the facilitators of money laundering – real estate agents, accountants, and lawyers.
Amongst the many heroes in this book, Paul Jevtovic stands out. He courageously led AUSTRAC as CEO during the Commonwealth Bank enforcement.
Lynch delivers uncomfortable home truths about the property price bubble in Australia. He pulls no punches, with a casual narrative style that’s dotted with humour and humanity.
Released in June 2022, including an excellent author discussion with Michael West at the Canberra Writers Festival:
https://michaelwest.com.au/national-p...
I was gripped by this book, and barely put it down while reading the entire 340 pages. With the ASIC prosecution of Star directors and officers, this book is well worth a summer read (especially by company directors and executives)…
August 15, 2022
For years Australia has lagged behind the rest of world when it comes to laws and regulations around money laundering and as Lynch points out in TLL, it has led to rising house prices, share market scams and even aided paedophiles in abusing children.
Nathan is correct that pretty much all of the news coverage surrounding the banking scandal missed that the real estate agents, lawyers, banks and lobbyists are like the getaway driver during a bank robbery yet they're not treated as accomplices in the helping of washing the proceeds of crime. It's disgusting that the legislation that was meant to have been passed back in 2007 that would've closed Australia's easy money laundering loopholes is still waiting to be passed.
This should be read far and wide by all Australians. It'll leave you mad and wanting action to close Australia to dark money plus it'll mean real estate agents will lose out and Australian's looking to buy their first home won't have to compete with faceless buyers with bigger budgets than them.
Nathan is correct that pretty much all of the news coverage surrounding the banking scandal missed that the real estate agents, lawyers, banks and lobbyists are like the getaway driver during a bank robbery yet they're not treated as accomplices in the helping of washing the proceeds of crime. It's disgusting that the legislation that was meant to have been passed back in 2007 that would've closed Australia's easy money laundering loopholes is still waiting to be passed.
This should be read far and wide by all Australians. It'll leave you mad and wanting action to close Australia to dark money plus it'll mean real estate agents will lose out and Australian's looking to buy their first home won't have to compete with faceless buyers with bigger budgets than them.
January 8, 2023
The Lucky Laundry had been highly recommended to me by a number of colleagues from the AML community and I can agree it did live up to the expectations. While there are many fascinating books written about money laundering and terrorism financing, they are often focused on the experiences and cases that have played out in London, the US and Europe, it is rather rare to come across a book completely dedicated to the Australian environment and experience. The author shed light on both the CBA and Westpac cases, which offered excellent insights that although working in the industry, I still had no idea of certain particulars. I also found the focus around the property market, real estate (and gatekeepers in general) and Tranche 2 to be exceptionally well delivered and on-point. Neil Jeans’ testimony surrounding the FATFs grey-listing and the potential for Australia to end up on that list was also really interesting. I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to my colleagues who haven’t yet read it.
May 1, 2023
5 stars for content, 1 star for style.
This book covers an interesting and important topic - the abundance of money laundering in Australia. The writing is just awful. Sadly, it seems that authors or their publishers nowadays believe they have to make every story into a thriller, so we get bored with endless excursions about the personal lives of the people involved here.
This book covers an interesting and important topic - the abundance of money laundering in Australia. The writing is just awful. Sadly, it seems that authors or their publishers nowadays believe they have to make every story into a thriller, so we get bored with endless excursions about the personal lives of the people involved here.
July 30, 2023
This was a stunningly interesting and terrifying book. I totally agree with all the reviews though… while it’s written in a lovely engaging way it is written in a weird jumble way… crossing time and topics which makes it
Pretty frustrating.
Worth a read/skim though
Pretty frustrating.
Worth a read/skim though
September 3, 2025
The book jumps from one topic to another. It lacks a clear storyline and moves from one pointless anecdote to the next. The content about money laundering is somewhat interesting, but if you actually want to learn about this subject, this is definitely not the right book.
July 9, 2022
Well written, well researched and a real eye-opener on money laundering in Australia and globally.
October 22, 2024
Really enjoyed this book and the deep dive into Australia's failings.
January 1, 2025
I really enjoyed this. Very detailed and informative. Also very scary that it’s all true.
November 16, 2025
Insightful and easy to read. Interesting. Other synonyms are welcome
September 28, 2023
A difficult read. Although some very interesting information in the book it reads as if it is a first draft.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews