Australia’s financial intelligence regulator has cancelled, suspended or refused to renew the registrations of 45 virtual asset and remittance businesses over the past year, intensifying scrutiny of payment providers considered vulnerable to financial crime. The actions signal a higher operational and compliance threshold for companies handling crypto and cross-border money transfers in Australia.
According to AUSTRAC’s September 7 enforcement update, the affected businesses included firms that were inactive, insolvent, lacked operational capacity, failed to maintain appropriate registrations or presented significant money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Companies whose registrations were cancelled can no longer legally provide the affected services, while AUSTRAC said some individuals connected to removed firms were referred to domestic and international enforcement partners.
AUSTRAC Targets Crypto Compliance Failures
One of the most prominent cases involved BA Digital Ventures, which operated as GetCoins. AUSTRAC cancelled its registration on June 4 after working with Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre following customer complaints. The regulator said GetCoins had allegedly been exploited by organized cryptocurrency investment scams, making the case an example of enforcement driven by both compliance concerns and consumer harm.
AUSTRAC separately suspended Cryptolink’s VASP registration for three months from August 9 over continuing AML/CTF compliance concerns. The suspension forced all 96 cryptocurrency ATMs operated by Cryptolink offline, demonstrating that registration action can immediately remove transaction infrastructure from the market rather than simply impose a financial penalty.
The regulator has also widened its scrutiny beyond crypto-native businesses. On September 1, AUSTRAC launched an investigation into Western Union over concerns involving high-risk payment channels, customers and affiliates. Binance Australia has separately been ordered to appoint an external auditor. Together, the measures show AUSTRAC applying risk-based supervision across both virtual assets and established payment providers.
Australia Raises the AML Bar for VASPs
The enforcement campaign comes alongside Australia’s expanded AML/CTF regime. New obligations for additional virtual asset services took effect on July 1, including Travel Rule requirements governing information that must accompany certain transfers. VASPs now face stronger expectations around customer due diligence, transaction reporting, recordkeeping and transfer-level traceability.
AUSTRAC has also made its VASP register publicly accessible, allowing customers and counterparties to verify whether a provider is registered before using its services. Registration has become a more visible test of whether a crypto business meets Australia’s minimum regulatory requirements, while firms that fail to renew or lose authorization cannot continue providing regulated virtual asset services.
The 45 regulatory actions do not mean every removed business was accused of criminal conduct, since AUSTRAC cited reasons ranging from inactivity and insolvency to serious financial-crime risk. The broader message is that remaining registered is becoming an ongoing compliance obligation rather than a one-time administrative hurdle, with operational capability and effective AML controls increasingly determining who can continue serving Australia’s crypto and payments market.
