45 cryptocurrency and remittance registrations revoked by Australian authorities in 12-month crackdown
The financial intelligence agency detailed its year-long enforcement campaign that resulted in revoked, suspended and denied renewals for registrations, with particular focus on GetCoins for its role in facilitating coordinated investment fraud schemes.
The financial intelligence authority in Australia has announced that it revoked, suspended or declined to renew a total of 45 registrations for cryptocurrency and remittance service providers during the previous 12 months as part of heightened oversight of high-risk payment service operators.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) announced on Monday that these enforcement measures focused on service providers that had ceased operations, become insolvent or demonstrated insufficient operational capacity. The agency also pointed to instances where businesses failed to disclose material changes, held improper registrations or represented substantial risks related to money laundering activities or the financing of terrorism.
Brendan Thomas, who serves as CEO of AUSTRAC, stated that companies that had their registrations revoked are prohibited from continuing their operations. He further noted that certain individuals associated with some of these companies had been referred to law enforcement agencies or regulatory authorities both within Australia and internationally.
The regulatory agency drew attention to BA Digital Ventures, operating under the GetCoins brand, which had its virtual asset provider registration revoked in June after receiving numerous customer complaints. According to AUSTRAC, GetCoins was purportedly used by coordinated cryptocurrency investment fraud operations, and the decision to cancel its registration, carried out in conjunction with the National Anti-Scam Centre, contributed to disrupting these fraudulent activities.
The agency did not disclose the complete list of all 45 affected businesses or provide specific details breaking down the numbers between cryptocurrency and remittance service providers. The publicly accessible VASP register maintained by AUSTRAC shows recent enforcement actions that include GetCoins, Cryptolink, Self Custody, Jam Xchange and Coinsec Australia.
Additionally, AUSTRAC has initiated an investigation into Western Union and has suspended the cryptocurrency ATM network operated by Cryptolink.