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Australia’s financial intelligence regulator has cancelled, suspended or refused to renew 45 remittance and virtual asset service provider registrations over the past year as it increases scrutiny of high-risk payment businesses.
The 45 actions do not all involve crypto companies. AUSTRAC said they cover both remittance providers and VASPs, with removals targeting firms that were inactive, insolvent, improperly registered or unable to meet anti-money laundering requirements.
AUSTRAC Removes Firms Failing Registration and AML Standards
The regulator said some businesses lacked the operational capacity to begin or continue trading, had stopped providing regulated services or failed to notify AUSTRAC when their circumstances changed.
Others presented money laundering or terrorism financing risks serious enough to justify removal. Companies whose registrations are cancelled can no longer provide the covered services in Australia.
AUSTRAC can also refer individuals behind removed businesses to law enforcement and other regulators in Australia or overseas. The latest actions follow an earlier review of 128 apparently inactive businesses. That process led 62 firms to exit through regulatory action or voluntary withdrawal.
GetCoins Loses Registration After Scam Complaints
One recent crypto case involved BA Digital Ventures, which traded as GetCoins. AUSTRAC worked with Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre after receiving customer complaints and sought information about the company’s ability to manage money laundering risks.
The regulator said GetCoins had allegedly been exploited by organized cryptocurrency investment scams and cancelled its VASP registration on June 4.
Crypto ATM operator Cryptolink faced separate action in August. AUSTRAC suspended its registration for three months and ordered its 96 ATMs offline over concerns about controls around high-risk cash-to-crypto transactions.
April Reforms Expanded AUSTRAC Oversight of Crypto Firms
Australia expanded its anti-money laundering framework in April, replacing the digital currency exchange category with the broader VASP classification and bringing more crypto-related services under AUSTRAC supervision.
The regulator has also introduced a searchable public VASP register that allows users to check whether a crypto provider is registered under the AML regime.
AUSTRAC’s latest 45 registration actions cover both remittance providers and virtual asset businesses, while GetCoins and Cryptolink are among the recent crypto-specific cases.
