The Australian Anti-Money Laundering body warned 50 companies about potential compliance difficulties, including cryptocurrency exchanges.
Summary
• Australian Anti-Money Laundering (AUSTRAC) has taken action against 13 remittance service providers and cryptocurrency exchanges, with over 50 more under investigation for potential compliance violations.
• AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas announced that six providers’ registrations would not be renewed due to key staff being found guilty, prosecuted, or charged with serious crimes.
• Over 50 additional remittance providers and cryptocurrency exchanges received notifications, potentially leading to regulatory action.
• Due to their failure to meet standards before the deadline, we have placed constraints on the registrations of two additional providers.
• Three organizations that were denied registration no longer operate in Australia.
• The country’s Digital Currency Exchange Register removed two collapsed cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX Australia subsidiary FTX Express and Zipmex Australia, due to insolvency.
Australia‘s Anti-Money Laundering regulator has taken action against 13 remittance service providers and cryptocurrency exchanges, with over 50 more still under investigation for potential compliance violations.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said in a statement on February 17 that the regulator would not renew the registrations of six providers because key staff had been found guilty, prosecuted, or charged with a serious crime that “reflected negatively on their honesty or integrity.”
Over 50 additional remittance providers and cryptocurrency exchanges received notifications, which might lead to regulatory action, due to worries that operators are failing to disclose suspicious issues and transactions.
“The blitz follows AUSTRAC’s investigation, which found ongoing non-reporting and under-reporting in the transfer and digital currency exchange industries.”
“We launched an inquiry early last year to identify and eliminate non-compliant suppliers while also improving the industry’s reporting on questionable situations,” Thomas said.
Thomas stated that two additional providers had constraints imposed on their registrations for failing to satisfy standards before the deadline.
As a result, they are now on notice, and failing to satisfy requirements may result in the suspension or cancellation of their registrations. Three further organizations that were denied registration no longer operate in Australia.
Due to insolvency, the country’s Digital Currency Exchange Register removed two collapsed cryptocurrency exchanges: FTX Australia subsidiary FTX Express and Zipmex Australia.
AUSTRAC reports 417 digital currency trades and 5,112 remittance registrations in Australia.
In December of last year, Thomas stated that the government agency will transfer its emphasis to the cryptocurrency business in 2025, amid a crackdown on crypto ATM operators who may be violating anti-money laundering regulations.
Australia is the third-largest market for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ATMs. Coin ATM Radar data indicates more than 1,453 ATMs, up from 67 in August 2022.
Cryptocurrencies, Australia, Money Laundering
The same month, AUSTRAC suggested tighter Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws to strengthen control of the cryptocurrency business and combat financial crime.
In December, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission issued a consultation document on proposed cryptocurrency recommendations, classifying certain digital assets as financial instruments and requiring crypto businesses to be regulated.
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