The Australian financial regulator has just imposed a heavy $56,340 fine on cryptocurrency operator Cryptolink for failing in its anti-money laundering responsibilities. In essence, the company was late in reporting significant cash transactions and had substantial security weaknesses.
AUSTRAC, the agency responsible for monitoring illegal financial activities in Australia, brought these issues to light through their specially formed Crypto Taskforce. The findings indicate that Cryptolink was neglecting its obligation to identify suspicious activities and, therefore, also failing in the timely reporting of large cash movements.
The agency head, Brendan Thomas, was very direct in his explanation of the reason for this importance. Among other things, he emphasized the fact that the crypto ATM environment is rapidly turning into one of the most attractive places for fraudsters and criminals who want to launder their ill-gotten gains. The statistics put forward by the investigators are quite staggering – they say that 85% of the transactions from the largest users of crypto ATMs have been the direct source of scam or money mule schemes.
Not stopping with the fine payment, Cryptolink is now required to go a long way to demonstrate that the company has rectified the situation. Among other things, they are required to engage independent experts to verify their reporting systems, check their transaction monitoring, and even completely change the way they assess risks. Essentially, it is a complete compliance overhaul under AUSTRAC's supervision.
On the other hand, as a point in their favor, Cryptolink did not resist – they fully cooperated with the investigators and have already paid the penalty. However, the company, as is quite typical with businesses when they pay such types of penalties, has not admitted to any wrongdoing.
Thomas was very explicit that AUSTRAC is no longer in the mood for playing games with crypto operators. While they would be glad to collaborate with rule-abiding exchanges, any company that disregards compliance will be put under pressure.
Editor-in-chief and creator Cole Smith of casinocurrencies.com, has extensive experience with casino payment systems, The site was created to provide an honest and trustworthy resource for online gambling players.