Latest news with #Austrac
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Australia cracks down on crypto ATMs as scams, fraud uncovered
A Bitcoin ATM at a mall. Austrac 'has uncovered disturbing trends which have confirmed that cryptocurrency ATMs are being used for scam/fraud-related transactions', Thomas said in a statement. — Bloomberg Australia's financial crimes agency placed curbs on cryptocurrency automatic teller machines as the surging number of kiosks increasingly attract fraudsters and scammers. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, known as Austrac, placed a A$5,000 (R M13,743 ) limit on cash deposits and withdrawals as part of new measures to safeguard consumers, according to a statement on June 3. It's also refused to renew the registration of one crypto ATM provider. Austrac "has uncovered disturbing trends which have confirmed that cryptocurrency ATMs are being used for scam/fraud-related transactions,' chief executive officer Brendan Thomas said in the statement. It's also introduced "enhanced customer due diligence obligations, mandatory scam warnings, and requirements for more robust transaction monitoring.' Crypto ATMs have boomed in Australia over the past several years. There are now more than 1,800 machines in the country compared to just 23 in 2019, according to Austrac data. Customers aged 50 and older accounted for almost 72% of all crypto ATM transactions by value, with those between 60 and 70 representing 29%. Austrac warned late last year that cryptocurrencies posed a heightened criminal risk. The agency said Tuesday it also expects digital currency exchanges to consider imposing similar limits to those announced, if they accept cash for crypto transactions. "I would warn anybody who is asked to use one of these machines to send funds to someone to stop and think twice,' Thomas said. – Bloomberg
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Australia Cracks Down on Crypto ATMs as Scams, Fraud Uncovered
Australia's financial crimes agency placed curbs on cryptocurrency automatic teller machines as the surging number of kiosks increasingly attract fraudsters and scammers. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, known as Austrac, placed a A$5,000 ($3,250) limit on cash deposits and withdrawals as part of new measures to safeguard consumers, according to a statement Tuesday. It's also refused to renew the registration of one crypto ATM provider.
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Disgusting': CommBank threatens to close account unless customer explains why he has cash at home
The founder of a respected property research firm has blasted a 'disgusting' and 'Orwellian' email from Commonwealth Bank demanding he cough up information about his finances — including whether he is holding cash at his home — or risk losing his bank accounts. SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher took to social media on Tuesday to blast the bank's request for 'updated personal information' as part of its Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, overseen by financial intelligence agency Austrac. The email warned that if he did not provide the required information, including 'details relating to your source of wealth', within seven days 'we may discontinue, restrict or limit access to your accounts'. 'What I have just gone through this morning with CBA is disgusting,' Mr Christopher wrote on X in a now-viral post viewed more than 400,000 times. 'Absolutely despicable, Orwellian stuff. Driven by Austrac.' What I have just gone through this morning with CBA is disgusting. Absolute despicable, Orwelian stuff. Driven by Austrac. Just out of the blue, the bank sent me the enclosed email and demanded to know: 1) How I have built up my wealth? 2) Why have I made… â€' Louis Christopher (@LouiChristopher) May 13, 2025 According to Mr Christopher, he initially thought the email was a scam but when he phoned the bank on a different number 'it was true'. The representative demanded to know 'how have I built up my wealth', 'why have I made cash withdrawals', 'if I am holding cash at home, why' and 'why did I make certain transactions to third parties', he wrote. 'They got rather personal,' Mr Christopher told 'I was shocked they would ask me if I'm holding cash at home and why — I regard sharing that info as a security risk. How have I generated my wealth? That's my business, unless they've got more than a slight suspicion I'm doing something illegal [in which case it should require] a court order.' Mr Christopher said the email 'came out of the blue', following an earlier email sent on April 5 that he suspects went into his junk filter. 'They didn't give me any elaboration on what triggered this,' he said. He noted none of his business accounts were with Commonwealth Bank. 'Everyone knows I've got a profile, I've got my business SQM Research, we've been providing property statistics for years,' he said. 'The crazy thing is I've been a long-term client of CBA. I've been with the bank since 1978. You'd think they might go back and look at the history, it's not an account that's been set up overnight, pretty standard transactions.' He answered the reprentative's questions grudgingly and 'I expressed to her that I wasn't happy with these questions'. 'I also said how frequently are these questions going to be asked — she said 'whenever we have a need to update our data banks',' he said. 'The ironic thing was at the end of all this, they wanted to share the information from the phone call with regulatory authorities as well as with other third-party credit providers. I had to say yes under duress.' Mr Christopher said 'in the end I was just flabbergasted' and decided to share his experience online — leading scores of people to 'share their own stories of having their accounts frozen'. 'This is not on,' he said. 'Banks should not be allowed to freeze people's accounts unless it's via a court order. It is a human right and it should not be done on a whim of some manager.' He remains concerned his accounts may still be frozen because 'I was ambiguous on some of the responses'. 'I said [the cash] is for a rainy day,' he said. 'I'm a bit concerned because other people have given ambiguous answers and have had their accounts frozen.' He added he was 'not necessarily putting all the blame on CBA'. 'I suspect it's been driven by Austrac on the KYC rules, the bank's legal counsel probably has some type of legal interpretation of what the bank is required to do and CBA have taken this position that they have to ask these questions,' he said. 'I get it, they're trying to stop money being transferred to terrorists, money laundering, but the community has got to live as well. We'll never completely stamp out that type of crime. They've got to take a step back, it's going too far.' A Commonwealth Bank spokeswoman said 'we are required to manage our customers' accounts in line with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, which sets out that all banks operating within Australia are required to collect, verify and maintain customer identification information'. 'In the same way that we need to comply with regulations when a customer first opens an account, we also need to comply with current law regarding the maintenance of their identification information,' she said. 'Ensuring we have a customer's most up-to-date and correct details also helps us to keep them safe and protect them from fraud.' In December, Commonwealth Bank announced a $3 cash withdrawal fee for some accounts, with the ensuing widespread backlash prompting a walkback and apology.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Commonwealth Bank threatens to close long-time customer's accounts over little-known rule
An Aussie businessman has described one of Australia's Big Four banks as 'Orwellian' after it threatened to freeze his accounts unless he explained the source of his money. Louis Christopher, who runs investment research company SQM, said Commonwealth Bank threatened to cancel and close his bank accounts because he wouldn't explain to them where his money came from. The bank recently sent a warning in writing to Mr Christopher who told Daily Mail Australia about the unexpected threat. 'This email came through and the first thought was that this is spam,' Mr Christopher said. 'I rang up Commonwealth Bank and they verified it was real and if I didn't comply, they would freeze my accounts. 'They were going to suspend all my accounts this week if I didn't tell them the answers to the above questions and said Austrac gave them the authority to do that.' The bank wanted to know how he built up his wealth, why he made cash withdrawals, if he was holding cash at home and why, and why he make certain transactions to third parties. He described the email as 'Orwellian' 'I found this a gross intrusion on my privacy. My wealth is my business and I regard it as a security threat to my family and myself to share it with anyone,' Mr Christopher said. 'They asked me to agree to share this information with third parties including government departments and other commercial credit providers. This is obscene, it's not acceptable.' Mr Christopher, who has been a CBA customer since 1978, thinks the legal counsels within the banks were trying to interpret the demands of AUSTRAC. AUSTRAC is the federal government's financial intelligence and investigation agency. It oversees anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. 'I think it is government-driven. Orwellian stuff, driven by AUSTRAC,' he said. The Federal Government has allowed banks to question its customers on what they are doing with their cash and where sums deposited have come from. 'It is a major intrusion on our privacy and liberties. I really do hope they don't freeze my accounts. I've been one of their long-standing customers and they can see my history,' Mr Christopher said. Mr Christoper said the actions of banks and government agencies had gone too far and said it was all about collecting the data of Aussies. 'Putting a gun to everyone's heads and saying 'we're going to freeze your accounts unless you answer very personal questions' should not happen unless there's a court order,' he said. 'Banking is an essential service. If they freeze my accounts I won't be able to buy food or pay my mortgage.' A number of people told Mr Christopher on social media that they had experienced the same problems, and it was not only CBA that came under fire. Nick Marshall said: 'Had a similar experience before I left Australia, threatening accounts will be closed if they don't answer their personal financial questions. 'I felt equally disgusted, then a few weeks ago they threatened the same thing if I didn't disclose my new country's tax info.' Another said: 'This happened to me just recently with ING. They shut me down and cut off all access to my own money with no warning. 'I had to jump through hoops with bells on just to access my accounts. 'My accounts are chump change. I have no large sums of money. They are coming for all of us.' A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson sent Daily Mail Australia a statement justifying their actions. 'We are required to manage our customers' accounts in line with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, which sets out that all banks operating within Australia are required to collect, verify and maintain customer identification information,' they said. 'In the same way that we need to comply with regulations when a customer first opens an account, we also need to comply with current law regarding the maintenance of their identification information. 'Ensuring we have a customer's most up-to-date and correct details also helps us to keep them safe and protect them from fraud.'
The Guardian
11-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
CEO of Ladbrokes owner Entain steps down after five months in role
The chief executive of Entain has left the business in a surprise move just five months after joining the owner of bookmakers Ladbrokes and Coral. Britain's biggest bookmaker said Gavin Isaacs was leaving by mutual agreement, and with immediate effect. Entain's share price fell by 10% on the news. Isaacs, 60, an Australian lawyer with 25 years of experience across the global sports betting, gaming and lottery industries, had come out of semi-retirement and relocated from Las Vegas to run the FTSE 100-listed company in September. It is unclear what Isaacs will do next. It is understood that his departure was not related to group strategy or performance. The sports betting and gambling company will be run again on an interim basis by Stella David, the chair, until a permanent chief executive is found. She also assumed the role of interim chief executive for nine months during the previous CEO search. Pierre Bouchut, a senior independent director, will act as interim chair. In a short statement, David said: 'Entain is making strong progress in delivering our strategic priorities. We would like to thank Gavin for his contribution.' This means that David, on an interim basis, is one of a small group of female chief executives at FTSE 100 companies, of which only 10 are run by a woman. The company, which also owns the Gala, Foxy Bingo and PartyPoker brands, said it expects underlying profits to hit the top end of the £1.04bn to £1.09bn forecast range for 2024. Entain said it was 'comfortable' with market expectations of £1.1bn profits for the coming year. Entain's results for 2020 are under investigation by the Financial Reporting Council, which is scrutinising the audit conducted by KPMG. Analysts at Goodbody described Isaacs's departure as 'disappointing,' which they said created 'another period of uncertainty around management'. 'The group spent nine months to hire Gavin Isaacs, and by all accounts he was regarded as a strong candidate by stakeholders,' they wrote. They also said David was very well regarded when she previously held the role and 'as such is a safe pair of hands'. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion In December, the Australian regulator Austrac said it was bringing civil penalty proceedings against Entain. The company was accused of 'serious and systemic' non-compliance with Australia's anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, and not having the right procedures in place to spot and block criminals from using its sites. It is unclear what fines could arise but Entain has said the costs could be 'material' and the uncertainty unsettled investors. Entain said in December it had cooperated fully with Austrac throughout the investigation and embarked on a programme to overhaul its Australian systems and processes, due to be completed in June.
