Australia’s financial crime regulator has struck 45 remittance and virtual asset service provider (VASP) registrations from its registers. The cancellations, suspensions, and refused renewals span the past year.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has referred individuals behind some of those businesses to law enforcement. 

Why Australia Pulled 45 Crypto Firms Off Its Registers

AUSTRAC listed several grounds for the actions. Some businesses were dormant or inactive, and some were insolvent. Others had gone long stretches without providing any designated service at all.

A lack of operational capacity also prevented some from starting or continuing to trade. Some held the wrong registration or failed to notify AUSTRAC of material changes to their operations.

The remainder posed a significant risk of money laundering or terrorism financing.

“The rapid movement of money across borders can create some of the highest ML/TF risks,” CEO Brendan Thomas said. “Financial crime operates across borders, and we work closely with our domestic and international partners to strengthen the financial system not just in Australia, but globally.”

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GetCoins Cancellation Sits Inside a Wider Payments Sweep

AUSTRAC named BA Digital Ventures Pty Ltd, which traded as GetCoins, in the announcement. The regulator worked with the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) after receiving customer complaints.

It then requested information on the company’s operations to assess whether GetCoins could manage its money-laundering exposure. Organized cryptocurrency investment scams allegedly exploited the VASP, according to AUSTRAC.

Meanwhile, the sweep lands alongside other recent action in payments and crypto. The regulator opened an investigation into Western Union on September 1 and suspended Cryptolink in August, taking 96 crypto ATMs offline.

“Our message to industry is clear: understand and manage your risks and meet your reporting obligations, or you may not be able to continue operating,” Thomas added. 

Thomas tied the tighter oversight to the agency’s annual risk update. He added that AUSTRAC will keep removing businesses that pose a significant money laundering or terrorism financing risk.

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Source: BeInCrypto