About the J5
The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) is a partnership between five nations (US, UK, Australia, Netherlands, Canada) aimed at combatting transnational money laundering and tax crime.
The organisation was established in 2018 following the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s call to action to fight tax crime. The representative organisations from each member state that work with the J5 consist of the following:
- Australia: Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
- United Kingdom: His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
- Netherlands: Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD)
- Canada: Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
- USA: Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)
Partner events
The J5 regularly holds several annual events designed to help member states stay up to date with the latest and emerging changes in the criminal landscape.
Cyber Challenge
Launched in 2018, the cyber challenge brings together experts from each country with the goal of identifying “leads into tax evasion and money laundering involving crypto assets”. The most recent challenge was held in Zwolle, Netherlands, in September 2025, and focused on joint operations that had real world impacts as well as illegal cryptocurrency activities, darknet markets, identify-based fraud schemes, and transnational crime organisations.
As noted in a September 2025 J5 press release, previous cyber challenges have resulted in the investigation of numerous high-profile scams, including Omega Pro, SafeMoon, and decentralised finance (DeFi) theft.
Global Financial Institutions Partnership Summit
Running since 2022, the Global Financial Institutions Partnership Summit (GFIP) was designed to bring “financial institutions, banking associates, Financial Intelligence Unit representatives, and other partners” together to discuss how to best combat financial and tax crime.
The most recent summit was held in Sydney, Australia from 10-12 November 2025 and was hosted by the ATO and discussed numerous topics, including artificial intelligence, cyber threats, financial technology, and “how banks, fintechs, regulators, and law enforcement can work together to close compliance gaps and detect illicit funds earlier”.
Recent developments
The ATO, as a J5 partner, also provides readers with information about recent announcements, publications, and press releases prepared by the J5, which include the following:
- The J5 announced that a US citizen who filed false income returns following the sale of multiple non-fungible tokens (NFTs) had been arrested and sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment. The investigation that led to this outcome was the result of a lead identified during the 2022 J5 cyber challenge, which focused on NFTs.
- In light of recent estimates by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that “approximately $235 billion in suspicious activity has been reported” in relation to over-the-counter (OTC) platforms and $5 billion “in suspicious activity” has been reported in relation to cryptocurrency payment processors, the J5 published two law enforcement advisories in February 2025 to help law enforcement agencies better understand how these platforms are being used to obscure illicit financial activities and hide the movement of illegal funds, and identify what steps can be taken to disrupt such activities.
- Report 1: Demystifying Cryptocurrency Payment Processors
- Report 2: Over-the-Counter (OTC) Cryptocurrency Trading Desks
- A 10 February 2026 press release from the J5 announced that the chief executive officer of the digital asset company SafeMoon was found guilty of engaging in a cryptocurrency scam that involved money laundering, wire fraud, and security fraud, and has been sentenced to 100 months in prison. The CEO was also forced to forfeit $7.5 million and a future hearing will also determine a restitution sum that will be paid to his victims.
Key takeaways
Following the OECD’s call for increased action against international tax crime and money laundering, the J5’s member states have shown, since being established in 2018, the incredible value and outcomes that can be achieved through international cross-border cooperation.
