THIS ISN’T PEAKY BLINDERS, THIS IS MELBOURNE

Firebombings, illicit tobacco, and the financial systems quietly funding it.

It’s easy to watch Peaky Blinders and think that kind of crime belongs to another time.

Backroom deals. Turf wars. Businesses set on fire as a warning.

Stylised. Dramatic. Almost… distant.

But over the past year in Australia, that same playbook has been unfolding again, just without the cinematography.

This time, it’s not fiction.

And it’s not Birmingham.

It’s happening here.

Across Melbourne and other parts of Australia, organised criminal groups are fighting for control of the illicit tobacco market.

And it’s not a small prize.

The combination of high tobacco taxes, strong consumer demand, and the ability to move product through cash-based retail channels has created a multi-billion dollar black market, one that operates largely out of sight.

Not every target is “in the game.”

Some are small business owners.

Some are caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

And increasingly, the consequences are spilling far beyond the people these groups are trying to control.

Firebombings aren’t random.

They are one of the most effective tools organised crime has for one reason:

Visibility.

A single incident doesn’t just damage a storefront , it signals control, spreads fear, and forces compliance without needing constant enforcement.

It’s not about the building.

It’s about the message.

But the violence is only the surface.

Underneath it is something quieter and far more scalable. Money moving through legitimate systems.

Cash from illicit tobacco sales processed through everyday businesses. Transactions that look ordinary. Funds moved quickly , often beyond reach. This is the part that doesn’t make headlines.

And it’s the part that allows everything else to continue. Because financial crime today doesn’t force its way into the system. It blends into it.

And that’s what makes this different. This isn’t distant, stylised crime. It’s structured, embedded, and happening in real time, within the same systems businesses rely on every day.

This isn’t Peaky Blinders.

This is Australia.

EIGHT YEARS ON: 

What Australia Can Learn From NZ’s AML Rollout

Eight years on from New Zealand extending AML laws beyond banks to lawyers, accountants and real estate, a few things have become clear. What initially felt complex and disruptive has since settled into standard practice, but not without lessons along the way.

Most Businesses Underestimated the Work

AML was treated as a one-off implementation rather than an ongoing function. Customer due diligence, monitoring and escalation all require continuous effort, and many businesses only realised this once volumes increased and edge cases began to surface.

Having a program wasn’t enough.

Early compliance often focused on policies and systems, but as oversight matured, expectations shifted. It was no longer about having a program in place, but whether it could be demonstrated, defended and proven to work under scrutiny.

Technology didn’t solve the problem.

Many relied heavily on platforms for verification and screening, but technology alone couldn’t handle judgement. Complex structures, unusual behaviour and higher-risk scenarios required human oversight, and this gap became clear over time.

Compliance landed on the wrong people.

AML was often added to existing roles, which worked initially but became unsustainable as obligations increased. Over time, it shifted into a dedicated operational function rather than something managed on the side.

Enforcement didn’t come immediately, but it did come.

The absence of early action led some to assume their approach was sufficient, but regulatory scrutiny increased over time. When it did, it exposed gaps that required remediation under pressure.

Australia is now entering the same phase New Zealand did in 2018. The uncertainty and assumptions are familiar, but the difference is that the pattern is already clear. AML doesn’t fail because it is ignored, it fails because it is underestimated.

Right Under Our Feet: The Pitt Street Case

Recent developments involving a Sydney solicitor working out of the CBD have brought financial crime closer to home than many are comfortable with.

Police allege the lawyer played a role in a broader fraud and money laundering syndicate that targeted financial institutions, with activity linked to more than $25 million in fraudulent loans and property transactions. 

He has been charged with multiple offences, including dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and dealing with proceeds of crime, and has been refused bail as investigations continue.

What stands out isn’t just the scale. it’s the structure. 

Authorities allege the activity moved through legitimate channels: loan applications, conveyancing processes and corporate structures that, on the surface, would have appeared routine.

That’s where professional services sit in the system. Lawyers, brokers and advisors don’t just operate alongside financial flows, they help enable them.

When those systems are used as intended, they provide certainty. When they’re not, they can provide legitimacy.

Cases like this don’t sit outside the system. They move through it. And they don’t happen “somewhere else.” They happen in the centre of Sydney, within established firms, using processes relied on every day.

As AML obligations prepare to extend into professional services, the relevance is immediate.

Because financial crime isn’t defined by where it sits.

It’s defined by how easily it can pass as business as usual.

Editor’s Letter

Tomas Jordan, Sales Director

No one really grows up planning to work in AML.

It is not a career most people are introduced to early, and it is rarely something studied with a clear path in mind. More often, people find themselves in it by accident, through a role that evolves, a responsibility that gets added, or a problem that needs to be solved.

People stepping into roles where they are suddenly responsible for understanding how money moves, what looks right, what does not, and when something needs to be challenged. It is not always straightforward work, and it rarely comes with clear answers, but it is becoming a critical part of how businesses operate.

What is shifting now is the scale of that need.

As AML obligations expand, particularly into professional services, more people will enter this space without necessarily choosing it in the traditional sense. They will learn on the job, build capability over time, and become part of a function that did not exist at this level even a decade ago.

New Zealand went through this eight years ago. What was once unfamiliar is now embedded, supported by a workforce that had to be built as the regulation evolved.

Australia is now at the beginning of that same process. 

For those entering the workforce, or already in roles that are changing, this is one of the areas that will continue to grow. It is not always visible, and it is not always simple, but it sits at the centre ofB how financial systems are protected. Most people do not plan to end up here.

But more and more will.

And over time, it will feel less like an unexpected path and more like a standard part of working in a modern, regulated environment.

Sources & References

• 9News, Sydney solicitor charged over alleged role in $25 million fraud, 2026.

• The Lawyer Magazine, Pitt Street lawyer charged over alleged fraud syndicate, 2026.

• Australian Institute of Criminology, The cost of serious and organised crime in Australia 2023–24, 2024.

• AUSTRAC, National Risk Assessment: Money Laundering in Australia, 2024.

• AUSTRAC, National Risk Assessment: Terrorism Financing in Australia, 2024.

• Scamwatch, Targeting Scams Report, 2024.

• Australian Cyber Security Centre, Annual Cyber Threat Report 2023–24, 2024.

• Australian Federal Police, Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce restrains $1.2 billion, 2024.

• Australian Taxation Office, Serious Financial Crime Taskforce outcomes, 2024.

• AUSTRAC, Detecting and stopping forced sexual servitude, 2022.

• Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act overview, 2026.

• New Zealand Government, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, 2009.

• The Australian, Illicit tobacco trade and organised crime activity in Australia, 2025.