Australia’s financial crime regulator has issued a warning to cryptocurrency ATM providers, indicating that many of these machines may be facilitating money laundering or defrauding victims.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) announced on Monday that its cryptocurrency task force, established in December 2024, has detected concerning trends and signs of suspicious activities associated with cryptocurrency ATMs, including connections to scams and fraud.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas emphasized the importance of establishing sound operating regulations for cryptocurrency ATM providers to reduce the risk of their machines being used for money laundering or scamming innocent individuals. He stated, “We have identified worrying trends and indicators of suspicious activities, including transactions that may be linked to scams or fraud.”
According to AUSTRAC’s press release, Thomas added, “The task force has been actively engaging with businesses to understand the risks in their sector and assess their compliance with the law.”
Under Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, all Digital Currency Exchanges (DCEs), including those operating crypto ATMs, must register with AUSTRAC and conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, monitors transactions, and files Suspicious Matter Reports as well as reports for cash transactions exceeding $10,000.
Currently, Australia has over 1,648 cryptocurrency ATMs, the highest number in the Asia-Pacific region, up from just 23 in 2019, with Sydney alone hosting 348, according to Coin ATM Radar.
Last December, AUSTRAC took action against cryptocurrency ATM providers in Australia that failed to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering regulations.
AUSTRAC’s intelligence highlighted that they have noticed that cryptocurrency includes a high risk for money laundering, and it is increasingly being used for laundering operations, scams, and illegal activities.
This year, in February, a group of U.S. senators introduced a new bill for the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act, which aimed to add multiple layers of protection to Bitcoin ATM transactions by improving and increasing transparency in the crypto sector.
The initiative also aimed to decrease the rise in incidents of crypto ATM scams by tightening federal regulations.
Additionally, last August, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) charged 13 unlicensed cryptocurrency ATMs from 35 different locations.
