AUSTRAC has directed Binance Australia to appoint an external auditor after identifying serious concerns with the crypto exchange’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing (AML/CTF) controls.
Investbybit Pty Ltd, Binance Global’s Australian arm, is an AUSTRAC registered digital currency exchange provider.
By transaction volume it is the world’s largest centralised crypto exchange. Established in 2017, it holds regulatory approvals or permissions in around 20 jurisdictions.
AUSTRAC is encouraging inactive remittance businesses to voluntarily withdraw their registrations or risk cancellation.
More than 900 independent remittance businesses are registered with AUSTRAC but a large proportion could be inactive.
AUSTRAC CEO, Brendan Thomas, said it’s important that only businesses with active services are listed on the register to limit the potential sale and use of these businesses for illicit purposes and ensure the public can verify operational businesses.
AUSTRAC has launched Federal Court civil penalty proceedings against Mount Pritchard District and Community Club (Mounties), for alleged serious and systemic non-compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.
AUSTRAC alleges that Mounties contravened the AML/CTF Act, providing gaming services to its customers in circumstances where it had not adopted and maintained an AML CTF program in compliance with the AML/CTF Rules.
AUSTRAC has finalised the Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with National Australia Bank (NAB) after the bank satisfied its obligations under the agreement.
AUSTRAC has cancelled an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) from PayPal Australia Pty Ltd (PayPal) after PayPal completed a two year remediation plan to improve its systems and controls relating to international funds transfer instructions (IFTIs).
AUSTRAC has closed Gold Corporation’s Enforceable Undertaking (EU), which was put in place after a series of AUSTRAC and third party reviews identified non-compliance with the AML/CTF Act.
AUSTRAC has released its regulatory priorities for this financial year, outlining new plans to reduce the harms from money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious crime.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said financial crime damages Australia’s financial system and this year’s focus is on preparing to regulate ‘tranche 2’ industries and targeting gaps in high-risk sectors such as cash and digital currencies.
AUSTRAC has ordered the appointment of an external auditor to Western Union Financial Services Australia (Western Union) after raising concerns about the money remitter’s compliance with the AML/CTF Act.
Among the concerns were core anti-money laundering issues such as poor customer due diligence, delayed or non-reporting of suspicious matters, non-compliant international funds transfer instruction reporting and concerns about whether Western Union’s AML/CTF program is functional.
A nationwide law enforcement operation has led to the identification of 90 scam victims, money mules, and suspected offenders who topped the list of crypto ATM users.
Analysts from AUSTRAC’s Cryptocurrency Taskforce examined the profiles of the most prolific crypto ATM users in each state, based on the value of their transactions, and identified dozens of cases they believed could be linked to scams or fraud.
AUSTRAC has refused to renew a crypto ATM operator’s registration and placed operating conditions, including transaction limits, on other Australian crypto ATM providers.
The conditions come after an AUSTRAC taskforce flagged worrying trends in crypto ATM compliance.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said over several months, the taskforce observed customer activity that bears the hallmarks of scams, fraud, and other illicit activity.