Greens senator Dorinda Cox made the initial claims under parliamentary privilege at a committee hearing into the Perth Mint, which examined its compliance with money laundering and terror laws.

Senator Cox first told the inquiry she had information that gold was being held on behalf of oligarchs, drugs cartels and outlaw bikies.

She raised reports a prominent former bikie was able to purchase $27,000 worth of gold bullion from the mint with his driver's licence.

"Every Western Australian that I've spoken to during this time said to me, 'how does this happen?'" she said.

"We're quite concerned that someone who is under constant surveillance is able to walk into the Perth Mint and purchase gold with cash."

However, she later told the inquiry to correct the record, saying she did not have independent evidence and was relying on media reports.

"The conversations that I've had with people is about the concern and the level of concern around clients that are listed by the Perth Mint," she said.

"I just wanted to correct the record ... the conversations are about people's general concern."

The inquiry was also later told the mint had not accepted cash as a payment form since mid 2021.

A spokeswoman said the WA government-owned corporation would not be providing commentary on the issue while the inquiry was ongoing.

In March, it was revealed the mint sold gold to China between 2018 and 2021 which was alloyed with silver in order to save money.

The Shanghai Gold Exchange raised complaints about two gold bars that did not meet its strict specifications.

Bradley Brown from Australia's financial crime watchdog said it was the obligation of bodies such as the Perth Mint to have processes in place to prevent criminal behaviour.

"We know that businesses will necessarily face the risk of criminals misusing them," he told the inquiry.

"It's fundamental within our legislation and hence a lot of our work and effort is about uplifting the capability of entities around Australia."

The mint was already being audited by the watchdog.

Mr Brown said the number of suspicious matters being reported to the watchdog was on the rise.

The latest data showed there had been a 295 per cent increase in reports made each year, rising to more than 290,000 in the past financial year.

"What we have been able to do is identify weaknesses in systems and expose particular businesses at different points in time that we'd otherwise not want to see within the financial system," he said.

Alongside the Senate inquiry, the WA government has ordered its own strategic review into the mint.

Australian Associated Press