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Brendan Thomas, CEO of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), announced that the agency is intensifying enforcement against remittance and digital currency exchange providers by tightening reporting requirements. This statement was released in a press release on February 17.
"Late last year AUSTRAC cancelled, suspended and refused renewals of registration for 9 providers that had failed to meet their obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act," said Thomas. "A further 2 providers had conditions placed on their registrations and are now on notice - a failure to meet these conditions may lead to suspension or cancellation of their registrations. Early last year we initiated an investigation to identify and eliminate non-compliant providers and improve the industry's reporting on suspicious matters. The blitz follows AUSTRAC's analysis that identified systemic non-reporting and under-reporting in the remittance and digital currency exchange sectors."
According to the press release, AUSTRAC's crackdown follows a year-long investigation into widespread non-compliance with anti-money laundering laws. The enforcement actions included removing Zipmex Australia Pty Ltd and FTX Express Pty Ltd from the Digital Currency Exchange Register due to insolvency. AUSTRAC cited systemic under-reporting of suspicious transactions as a key concern, emphasizing that digital currency exchanges play a critical role in detecting financial crime. With over 50 additional businesses under scrutiny, AUSTRAC warned that further regulatory actions could follow if compliance issues persist.
