AUSTRAC Cuts Ties with 45 Crypto Firms Over ML/TF Concerns

Australia's financial crime regulator has removed 45 remittance and virtual asset service provider (VASP) registrations from its registers in the past year, citing various reasons for the cancellations. According to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), some businesses were dormant or inactive, while others were insolvent or failed to notify AUSTRAC of material changes to their operations. Additionally, some held the wrong registration, lacked operational capacity, or posed a significant risk of money laundering or terrorism financing.

AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas emphasized that 'the rapid movement of money across borders can create some of the highest ML/TF risks.' He also stated that AUSTRAC works closely with domestic and international partners to strengthen the financial system globally. The regulator has referred individuals behind some businesses to law enforcement.

The cancellations include BA Digital Ventures Pty Ltd, trading as GetCoins, which allegedly facilitated organized cryptocurrency investment scams. This move comes alongside other recent actions in payments and crypto, including an investigation into Western Union and the suspension of Cryptolink, which took 96 crypto ATMs offline. AUSTRAC will continue to remove businesses posing a significant money laundering or terrorism financing risk.