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

The State Government will tighten its controls over operations and spending of the Gold Corporation — which oversees the scandal-plagued Perth Mint. 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 drug offences and convicted of assault and being armed in public — despite the mint being required to undertake checks of customers deemed “high risk”. There were allegations against the Mint that gold bars sold did not meet specifications of the Shanghai Gold Exchange 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. In a statement at the time, Perth Mint claimed there was no question about the gold purity and the value of the bars sold to customers in China. 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 remains 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. Perth Mint chief executive Paul Graham welcomed the minister’s announcement. “This is a vote of confidence in the commitment and hard work of more than 700 Mint employees and the important role the organisation plays in the WA community and the Australian gold industry,” Mr Graham said. “The proposed reforms to the Mint’s enabling legislation will further modernise our governance and support us to continue working with government, our customers and the people of WA in the next chapter of our 125-year history.” Premier Roger Cook said Tuesday in parliament that AUSTRAC did not impose fines and that no findings of criminality had been made.