Australia Wipes Out 95 Fake Investment Firms in $35.8M Crypto Fraud Crackdown

Federal Court Approves ASIC’s Crackdown on 95 Suspected Scam Firms

An Australian court has approved a major enforcement move by the national corporate watchdog, clearing the path to shut down 95 companies suspected of orchestrating large-scale crypto and romance scams.

The Federal Court of Australia granted the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) permission to wind up the firms on “just and equitable” grounds, after investigations revealed a widespread pattern of misconduct and fraudulent intent.

Romance Scams and Fake Trading Platforms at the Core

The 95 companies are believed to have played key roles in “pig butchering” scams—a method where victims are lured into fraudulent investment schemes through carefully cultivated online relationships.

According to ASIC, many of these operations posed as legitimate crypto trading platforms, foreign exchange services, or commodities brokers.

Victims were targeted through social media and dating platforms, often being manipulated over extended periods before being convinced to transfer money to bogus platforms.

False Identities and Fabricated Operations

ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said the companies were falsely presenting themselves as genuine businesses while deceiving unsuspecting investors.

On 8 April, she stated,

“ASIC believes many of these companies were set up with the aim of providing a veneer of credibility by purporting to provide genuine services.”

Court further explained that the scam operations often involved stolen or fake identities and mirrored professional financial platforms, making it harder for victims to detect the fraud.

Thousands of Investors Affected Worldwide

Provisional liquidators Catherine Conneely and Thomas Birch from Cor Cordis, who have now been appointed as joint liquidators, reported receiving nearly 1,500 claims from investors across 14 countries, including Australia, the United States, India, Ghana, the Philippines, and France.

The total amount claimed exceeds $35.8 million.

Despite the scale of the fraud, only three of the 95 companies had any assets to their names.

The court accepted the liquidators’ recommendation to shut down and deregister the remaining 92 firms immediately.

Justice Stewart Describes Evidence as Overwhelming

Justice Angus Stewart, presiding over the case, reviewed misconduct reports from 17 of the accused companies.

He noted a recurring pattern of scams involving fake relationships leading to fraudulent investments.

In a ruling delivered on 21 March, he said,

“There appears to be a common pattern of scam activity in the nature of ‘pig butchering’.”

The evidence supporting ASIC’s applications to shut the companies was described as “overwhelming.”

Scam Networks Linked to Southeast Asia

While the companies were registered in Australia, ASIC suspects the majority of scam operations were conducted from Southeast Asia.

These networks have exploited global digital platforms to run international fraud schemes while appearing to operate under the guise of Australian financial entities.

ASIC Strikes Back Against Online Scam Proliferation

Alongside this corporate crackdown, ASIC continues its fight against digital fraud.

The agency is currently removing around 130 scam websites each week, with over 10,000 fraudulent sites taken down to date.

These include more than 7,200 fake investment platforms and over 1,500 phishing websites.

Source: ASIC

But the scale of the threat remains.

Court warned,

“These scams are like hydras: you shut down one and two more take its place.”

Registry Reform and Ongoing Enforcement

ASIC said it is also working to improve its registry system to make it harder for scammers to exploit company structures in the future.

Court said,

“Scammers will use every tool they can think of to steal people’s money and personal information. ASIC takes action to frustrate their efforts, including by prosecuting those that help facilitate their conduct.”

Ongoing Investigations into Connected Entities

This enforcement action is part of ASIC’s broader effort to disrupt online investment fraud.

In recent months, the regulator filed a case against HSBC Australia for alleged failures to protect customers from scams and charged an individual for dealing in proceeds linked to global fraud.

ASIC is continuing to investigate related companies, websites, and apps believed to be connected to the now-deregistered firms.

Among the companies wound up are those bearing names resembling legitimate trading institutions, including Titan Capital Markets Pty Ltd, Aleos Capital Markets Pty Ltd, Atom Global Markets Pty Ltd, BHP Markets Pty Ltd, Kwakol Markets Pty Ltd, and Rhino Securities Pty Ltd.

95 companies closed for just and equitable reasons.