Background Briefing

The FINCEN Files have revealed how Australian businesses are involved suspicious transactions worth billions of dollars. This week, Mario Christodoulou follows the money trail home to downtown Sydney and investigates why the system designed to stop it often fails.

An unprecedented leak of secret US Government reports has revealed how two trillion dollars of suspected dirty money snakes around the globe. This week on Background Briefing, Mario Christodoulou shows how terrorists and mobsters smuggle staggering sums of money through some of the world's largest banks - and often get away with it. This never-before-told story is the culmination of a 16-month-long investigation by 400 journalists for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Human rights advocates describe the pursuit of the Wikileaks founder as "a threat to global media freedom". But when a magistrate decides whether he'll be extradited to the United States, how much will the public's right to know actually matter? This week on Background Briefing, Meghna Bali goes inside his quest for freedom and uncovers never-before-told stories.

In this podcast extra, Hagar Cohen interviews John Deller from the Falun Dafa Association of Australia about the allegations raised in the series.

Fledgling media organisations affiliated with Falun Gong have formed strange alliances with far right movements overseas. But what about here in Australia? This week on Background Briefing, Hagar Cohen investigates what happens when a pursuit for religious freedom comes into conflict with the transparency and independence required of Australia's fourth estate.