Latest news with #AustralianTransactionReportsandAnalysisCentre
AU Financial Review
3 days ago
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Ladbrokes owner reveals $100m provision for AUSTRAC fine
The British bookmaking giant behind Ladbrokes and Neds has set aside more than $100 million as it attempts to broker a deal with the financial crimes watchdog for breaches of anti-money laundering laws. London-listed Entain is in mediation with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre after its board and executive team were accused of failing to put in proper checks on how some of its biggest customers were financing yearly multi-million dollar betting.
Sky News AU
19-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
AUSTRAC broadens scope of anti-money laundering crackdown to target billions of dollars of drug money investment
Australia's financial crimes agency is cracking down on the billions of dollars of drug money laundered throughout the economy as it broadens the scope of its interrogations. Join to watch the full interview behind the crackdown on Business Weekend from 11am AEST. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) on Thursday revealed it is looking at how real estate agents, lawyers, conveyancers, accountants and other professions can prevent money laundering. It marks a shift for AUSTRAC which typically looks into the finance sector. 'AUSTRAC will look at risk and behaviour at an industry and sector level rather than focussing solely on individual entities,' AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said. The department's deputy chief executive Katie Miller joined Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood where the question of how Australian criminals were laundering drug money arose. 'One number that rolls in my head … is the consumption of, for example, cocaine (and) illicit drugs in Australia is around $14 billion worth per year,' Greenwood said. 'That money has to be laundered because much of it is in cash. Same thing would go for the illegal tobacco trade. 'This is all money that becomes much more difficult to launder as a result of the actions that you will take against the gate keepers to much of the cash that might otherwise engage or find its way to legitimate business.' Ms Miller said the financial crimes agency had broadened the scope of its concern to further crackdown on money laundering practices. 'This is about trying to close those gaps that money launderers can exploit,' she said on Business Weekend. 'Money laundering is organised crime. They look for every opportunity where they can hide their money (and) where they transfer their money. 'This is a constant game of just trying to fill those gaps, lift up the standards so that we just make it harder for criminals to hide the illicit proceeds of their crime.' Greenwood on Thursday said the new efforts by AUSTRAC puts pressure on professionals, such as lawyers and real estate agents, to know where their clients' money is coming from. They will need to have proof of where the money originates before spending large sums of cash into something like property. 'A lot of the money that comes through the cocaine trail ends up in houses in very affluent suburbs in Australia,' Greenwood said. Ms Miller said by expanding the scope of AUSTRAC's view, it was cracking down on criminals that use professional services to access the financial sector. The agency will particularly focusing on cash-heavy businesses and crypto ATMs, which AUSTRAC previously revealed it was cracking down on. 'We're still seeing very high risks of money laundering in that sector and the industry does need to lift its standards and start managing those risks a lot better than is currently happening,' Ms Miller said. AUSTRAC in the past fined Westpac $1.3b, Commonwealth Bank $700m and is poised to fine Star Entertainment Group about $300m for money laundering practices.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Fraud victims among top crypto ATM users, Australian regulator says
Live Events Australia's financial crimes monitoring agency said on Wednesday that it has identified 90 scam victims, money mules and suspected offenders as the top crypto ATM users in the country, amid efforts to address crimes enabled by digital currency.A nationwide operation led by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) examined the most prolific crypto ATM users in each state, and based on the transaction values, identified cases likely linked to scams or fraud."We suspected that a large volume of crypto ATM transactions were probably illicit, but disturbingly, our law enforcement partners found that almost all of the transactions we referred involved victims rather than criminals," AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas one instance, AUSTRAC identified a woman in her 70s who had deposited more than A$430,000 into crypto ATMs after falling victim to romance and investment scams Earlier this month, AUSTRAC had placed conditions and limits on crypto ATM providers after flagging compliance concerns, with the number of active machines exceeding 1, the Australian corporate regulator has been cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges as well, with Binance and Blockchain Global coming under scrutiny.
Sky News AU
04-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Crypto ATM provider Harro's Empires boss lost life savings, separated from partner over distress from AUSTRAC crackdown
An Australian owner of cryptocurrency ATMs whose business was shut down this week had lost his life savings and separated from his partner amid constant pressure from the nation's financial crimes agency. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) on Tuesday refused to renew the registration of Adelaide-based Harro's Empires, which owned and provided crypto ATMs, and forced limits on other providers over mounting concerns of scam, frauds and illegal activity. Aussies have reported losing $3 million on scams involving crypto ATMS over the past 12 months, with AUSTRAC raising concerns that older Australians were disproportionately targetted. After AUSTRAC cancelled Harro's Empires registration, the company's director Michael Harrison said the decision was 'devastating' after he had spent two years working with the agency to counteract fraud. 'I complied with every request, spent tens of thousands of dollars upgrading our systems, and enhanced our already existing anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing controls (AML/CTF),' Mr Harrison said in a statement. 'We always had strict ID verification, reporting thresholds, and monitoring in place — but we made them even stronger at AUSTRAC's direction. "Every audit, every amendment, every compliance review — we met it head-on.' He claimed the company was 'never formally told' its machines were linked to criminal use or given a chance to address crimes concerns before being shut down. 'This wasn't just a business. It was built from the ground up with everything I had. I poured my life into it — financially and emotionally,' Mr Harrison said. 'The constant pressure and scrutiny from AUSTRAC took a serious toll. I've lost my life savings, my future plans, and I separated from my partner — largely due to the stress this fight placed on our family.' Harro's Empires is reviewing legal options and Mr Harrison said the company will 'ensure an orderly wind-down' after AUSTRAC de-registered it. The financial crimes agency said Harro's Empires crypto ATMS were at risk of being exploited and took severe action in a move likely to raise concerns for other crypto ATM providers. 'This action draws a clear line in the sand and serves as a warning to other digital currency exchange providers that aren't meeting their responsibilities under the AML/CTF Act,' AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said. He also noted the high amount of Australians aged 60-70 using the crypto ATMs raised alarm bells as a disproportionate number of people in this demographic are victims of scam activity. AUSTRAC Cryptocurrency Taskforce said it obtained data from nine ATMs showing the majority of users were over 50 and account for almost 72 per cent of transactions by value. It also noted 60-70 year olds accounted for 29 per cent of all transactions by value. AUSTRAC has enforced a $5000 limit on cash deposits and withdrawals, implemented mandatory scam warnings and enhanced customer protection obligations. 'The conditions are designed to help protect individuals from scams by deterring criminals from directing them to a crypto ATM, as well as to protect businesses from criminal exploitation,' Mr Thomas said. The CEO of Australia crypto trader Swyftx, which does not accept cash, said crypto ATMs were not offering consumers as much protection as exchanges. 'Most banks and large Australian crypto exchanges have advanced security systems in place to protect customers and that's left scammers scrambling around for alternatives,' Swyftx CEO Jason Titman told Sky News Australia. 'At the moment Crypto ATM's don't offer enough protection and it means Australians who use them are vulnerable to scammers.' Once cash is converted to a digital wallet, it is incredibly difficult to retrieve. AFP assistant commissioner for cyber command Richard Chin told ABC News he was aware of an elderly man who had been scammed $1.4m. He was reportedly instructed to make bank withdrawals and deposit the funds into a crypto ATM.
The Star
04-06-2025
- 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
