Australia’s financial intelligence regulator has cancelled, suspended or refused to renew 45 registrations held by cryptocurrency and remittance businesses over the past 12 months as scrutiny intensifies across high risk payment sectors.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, or AUSTRAC, said the actions covered businesses that were inactive, insolvent, unable to operate properly, incorrectly registered or failing to report significant changes. Some cases also involved substantial money laundering or terrorism financing risks.
The regulator did not publish the names of all 45 businesses or provide a breakdown showing how many were crypto companies and how many were remittance providers.
Key Takeaways
- AUSTRAC took registration action against 45 crypto and remittance businesses over the past year.
- Measures included cancellations, suspensions and refusals to renew registrations.
- Reasons ranged from inactivity and insolvency to serious money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
- GetCoins lost its virtual asset registration after customer complaints and alleged use by organized crypto investment scams.
- AUSTRAC has also suspended Cryptolink and opened a separate investigation into Western Union.
AUSTRAC Targets High Risk Payment Businesses
AUSTRAC said the 45 actions reflect increased scrutiny of businesses involved in moving money domestically and across borders. Some providers had stopped operating or become insolvent, while others lacked the capacity to begin or continue offering regulated services. The regulator also cited incorrect registrations and failures to notify it of material changes to business operations. More serious cases involved providers that presented significant exposure to money laundering or terrorism financing.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said cross-border payments can create particularly high financial crime risks.
“The rapid movement of money across borders can create some of the highest ML/TF risks.”
A cancellation has immediate consequences. Businesses that lose the required registration can no longer legally provide the affected service in Australia.
Thomas also said AUSTRAC had referred individuals connected to some of the affected businesses to law enforcement and regulatory authorities both within Australia and overseas.
“Businesses with cancelled registrations can no longer operate and where appropriate, we’ve referred individuals behind these businesses to law enforcement and regulatory partners locally and overseas.”
GetCoins Registration Cancelled After Complaints
AUSTRAC highlighted BA Digital Ventures Pty Ltd, which operated under the GetCoins name, as one of the businesses affected by its enforcement activity.
The company’s virtual asset registration was cancelled in June following customer complaints that led AUSTRAC to seek additional information about its operations and ability to manage money laundering risks.
According to the regulator, organized cryptocurrency investment scams allegedly used the GetCoins service.
Thomas said:
“This VASP was allegedly exploited by organised cryptocurrency investment scams.”
AUSTRAC worked alongside Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre on the matter and said cancelling the registration helped disrupt the alleged scam activity. The regulator did not accuse GetCoins itself of organizing the scams, an important distinction from its statement that the platform had allegedly been exploited by criminal operations.
Cryptolink and Western Union Also Face Scrutiny
AUSTRAC’s enforcement activity extends beyond the 45 registration decisions. The regulator suspended Cryptolink’s virtual asset registration in August, forcing its crypto ATM network offline. Some reports say the action affected 96 cryptocurrency ATMs across Australia.
AUSTRAC has also opened a separate investigation into Western Union, expanding its scrutiny beyond crypto companies into the broader remittance sector. The regulator has not disclosed detailed findings from the Western Union investigation, and the matter remains ongoing.
AUSTRAC’s public records also show recent virtual asset registration actions involving businesses including Self Custody, Coinsec Australia and Jam Xchange.
Australia Tightens AML Oversight of Crypto
The registration actions come as Australia strengthens its anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing framework. Virtual asset providers and remittance businesses are required to register with AUSTRAC before providing covered services. Registration also brings obligations around customer identification, transaction monitoring, reporting and management of financial crime risks.
The regulator has increasingly warned businesses that registration is not simply an administrative requirement. Companies must demonstrate that they can continue meeting their AML and reporting responsibilities.
Thomas said firms that fail to manage those risks may lose access to the Australian market.
“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.”
Conclusion
AUSTRAC’s action against 45 crypto and remittance registrations shows Australia is moving beyond registration toward more active supervision of payment businesses considered vulnerable to financial crime.
The measures ranged from routine removals involving inactive or insolvent firms to enforcement involving alleged scam activity and serious money laundering risks. With GetCoins cancelled, Cryptolink suspended and Western Union under investigation, AUSTRAC is signalling that continued access to Australia’s payments and virtual asset markets will increasingly depend on operators demonstrating effective compliance rather than simply holding a registration.
