AUSTRAC Cancels or Suspends 45 Remittance and VASP Registrations

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has removed 45 remittance and virtual asset service provider (VASP) registrations in the past year, citing various reasons.

AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas stated that businesses with cancelled registrations can no longer operate, and where necessary, individuals behind these businesses have been referred to law enforcement and regulatory partners locally and overseas.

The centre's actions focused on companies lacking operational capacity, being dormant or inactive, failing to hold the required registration, or involved in significant money laundering or terrorism financing risks.

AUSTRAC worked with the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) to investigate BA Digital Ventures Pty Ltd, trading as GetCoins, after customer complaints. The centre requested information on GetCoin's operations to assess their ability to manage money laundering risks.