Australia Cancels, Suspends, or Refuses Renewal of 45 Crypto and Remittance Registrations in Past Year

Odaily News: The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said it has canceled, suspended, or refused renewal of 45 cryptocurrency and remittance business registrations over the past year, targeting service providers that are inactive, insolvent, or not operationally capable.

AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said businesses whose registrations are canceled must not continue operating; some related individuals have been referred to Australian and overseas law enforcement or regulatory cooperation agencies. Other issues include failure to report significant changes, incorrect registration information, and significant money laundering or terrorism financing risks.

AUSTRAC noted that the virtual asset service provider registration of GetCoins, a brand under BA Digital Ventures, was canceled in June due to customer complaints. The agency said GetCoins was suspected of being exploited by organized cryptocurrency investment scam operations, and the action was taken in collaboration with the National Anti-Scam Centre to help disrupt related activities.

AUSTRAC did not disclose the full list of 45 businesses, nor did it provide a breakdown of crypto versus remittance service providers. The public VASP register shows recent actions also involved Cryptolink, Self Custody, Jam Xchange, and Coinsec Australia; AUSTRAC has also launched an investigation into Western Union and suspended Cryptolink's cryptocurrency ATM network. (Cointelegraph)