Australia's Financial Watchdog Cancels, Suspends Registrations of 45 Crypto and Remittance Firms

Australia's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC has cancelled, suspended, or refused to renew registrations for 45 virtual asset and remittance businesses over the past year, reflecting a significant tightening of oversight on payment operators with elevated money-laundering and terrorism-financing risks.

On the 8th (local time), AUSTRAC announced it had imposed sanctions on businesses that were no longer operating, had become insolvent, or lacked the capacity to conduct business properly. Entities that failed to report key changes, had errors in their registration information, or posed significant money-laundering and terrorism-financing risks were also subject to enforcement action.

Brendan Thomas, CEO of AUSTRAC, explained that businesses whose registrations have been cancelled are no longer permitted to operate in the relevant sectors. He added that information on certain individuals associated with these entities has been shared with Australian and overseas law enforcement and regulatory authorities.

A prominent case cited was BA Digital Ventures, which operated under the name "GetCoins." The company's virtual asset service provider registration was cancelled in June after customer complaints were lodged. AUSTRAC determined that GetCoins had been exploited in an organized crypto investment scam and has been coordinating with the National Anti-Scam Centre in its response.