According to a statement by Government officials, the units will focus primarily on foreign bribery investigations, as well as other financial crimes.

The newly created structure includes a total of 26 investigators, forensic accountants and lawyers.

The staffing of the new police units will be supported by funds previously allocated by the government to combat foreign bribery. In April this year, it was announced that the Federal Police will be allocated $15 million over a three-year period to improve detection and interdiction of money flows, seizure of dubious proceeds, as well as the recruitment of leading lawyers to investigate these types of crimes. This amount was provided from the previously confiscated under the res res

The Australian Federal Police's dedicated focus on financial and corruption investigations began with the establishment of a multi-agency Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Centre as part of the State Crime Program.

Last year, under the leadership of the Centre, a serious financial crime task force had already been established to investigate offshore money laundering and tax evasion, including the involvement of professional syndicates and organized crime groups. The establishment of structures to investigate foreign bribery cases was the next stage in the work of the Federal Police and the Centre in this area.

It is noteworthy that, despite the significant number of foreign bribery defendants, there have been no prosecutions in Australia. The establishment of special units is therefore seen as an important, but by no means the only, step taken by the Government to combat corporate corruption. It is planned to prioritize the improvement of the relevant legislation in the future.