Australia removed 45 remittance and virtual asset businesses from its anti-money laundering registers over the past year. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) disclosed the figure today (Monday), combining cancellations, suspensions and refusals to renew registrations.
The consequence is immediate. A canceled registration stops a provider from operating the covered service. AUSTRAC said it referred people behind some providers to law enforcement and regulatory partners in Australia and overseas.
No category breakdown was published. AUSTRAC's reasons ranged from dormancy and insolvency to registration failures, missed notifications and money laundering or terrorism financing risk.
GetCoins Website Still Claims AUSTRAC Enrollment
AUSTRAC singled out BA Digital Ventures Pty Ltd, trading as GetCoins, after customer complaints reached the National Anti-Scam Centre. It requested information to assess GetCoins' ability to manage money laundering risk.
AUSTRAC can refuse an application, impose registration conditions, suspend a provider or cancel its registration when it identifies an unacceptable financial crime risk. The latest announcement also covers businesses that could not demonstrate the capacity to start or continue trading.
AUSTRAC said organized cryptocurrency investment scams allegedly exploited GetCoins. No complaint count or customer loss figure was disclosed, and the regulator did not accuse GetCoins of participating in the scams.
AUSTRAC's virtual asset registration decisions show that it canceled BA Digital Ventures' registration on June 4. That was three months ago. The same list records 14 other VASP cancellations between November 2025 and March 2026.
GetCoins' website still described BA Digital Ventures as enrolled with AUSTRAC when FinanceMagnates.com checked it on Monday. Its compliance page said it filed suspicious matter and threshold transaction reports, while its terms described GetCoins as a non-custodial crypto on-ramp and off-ramp.
The Australian Business Register continued to show BA Digital Ventures' ABN as active. That company status is separate from the AUSTRAC registration required to provide covered virtual asset services.
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"Understand and manage your risks and meet your reporting obligations," AUSTRAC Chief Executive Brendan Thomas said.
Payments and Crypto Enforcement Broadens
The 45 decisions follow several actions against larger payment and crypto businesses. AUSTRAC opened an investigation into Western Union on September 1 over its management of high-risk payment channels, customers and affiliates.
That inquiry covers Western Union's anti-money laundering program, transaction monitoring and governance. Its outcome remains open. AUSTRAC said it will decide whether to take further action after completing the investigation.
In August, the agency suspended Cryptolink's registration for three months and ordered its 96 crypto ATMs offline. The regulator cited reporting failures after a 2025 enforceable undertaking and infringement notice.
AUSTRAC previously ordered Binance Australia to appoint an external auditor over concerns about its local controls.
The register was already under review. FinanceMagnates.com reported in April 2025 that AUSTRAC was checking the status of many of the 427 digital currency exchanges then registered.
Registration Is One Layer of Australia's Crypto Rules
Only one regulatory layer is involved. AUSTRAC registration addresses money laundering and terrorism financing obligations, while an Australian financial services license is administered separately by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Australia is moving crypto platforms into a wider licensing framework. About 10% of roughly 400 registered platforms held an ASIC license as of April, according to previous FinanceMagnates.com coverage.
In May, AUSTRAC's annual risk updates identified virtual assets and artificial intelligence as tools changing how illicit funds move. The agency also pointed to gaps around offshore providers and crypto-native transactions, as FinanceMagnates.com reported.
AUSTRAC publishes separate decision lists for remittance firms and virtual asset providers. Its Monday announcement did not provide a table reconciling those lists with the 45-business total or state how many decisions remain subject to review.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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