AUSTRAC Cancels, Suspends, or Refuses Renewal of 45 Crypto and Remittance Registrations

Australia’s financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, said it has canceled, suspended, or refused to renew 45 crypto and remittance business registrations over the past year. The agency said the actions targeted inactive, insolvent, or otherwise non-operational service providers. According to Odaily, AUSTRAC Chief Executive Brendan Thomas said businesses whose registrations were canceled must stop operating, and some related individuals have been referred to Australian and overseas law enforcement or regulatory partners. The agency said the issues also included failure to report material changes, incorrect registration information, and significant money laundering or terrorism financing risks. AUSTRAC said BA Digital Ventures’ brand GetCoins had its virtual asset service provider registration canceled in June after customer complaints. It said GetCoins was suspected of being used by organized crypto investment scam activity, and the action was coordinated with the National Anti-Scam Centre to disrupt the activity. AUSTRAC did not release the full list of the 45 firms or break down the number of crypto and remittance service providers separately. Its public VASP register shows recent actions also involved Cryptolink, Self Custody, Jam Xchange, and Coinsec Australia. AUSTRAC has also opened an investigation into Western Union and suspended Cryptolink’s crypto ATM network.