Australia’s financial intelligence unit, Austrac, has raised concerns that artificial intelligence is accelerating money laundering operations by enabling criminals to scale scams, automate workflows, and create fraudulent documents.

CEO Brendan Thomas said in a statement that AI is increasingly part of criminals’ laundering toolkit, allowing them to fabricate identities and conceal proceeds more efficiently than traditional methods.

The warning comes as Austrac released updated risk assessments on financial crime, including threats tied to Iran and North Korea, and pointed to Australia’s globally connected economy as a key vulnerability.

State-backed hackers adopt AI to speed up cyber operations, Google says

Cyber threat actors, including criminal groups and state-backed hackers, are increasingly leveraging generative AI to automate exploit development, enhance malware, and expand cyber operations, Google’s threat intelligence unit reported this week.

The findings show AI is moving from testing to active deployment, including AI-assisted zero-day exploits and campaigns targeting authentication tools before being disrupted.

The report also highlights AI-powered malware such as PROMPTSPY, which uses Google’s Gemini API to control infected devices, as well as larger efforts by attackers to exploit AI systems, supply chains, and model access for cybercrime.