{"id":1774,"date":"2019-03-08T05:28:56","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T05:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=1774"},"modified":"2019-03-08T05:28:56","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T05:28:56","slug":"cybercrime-squad-and-austrac-remind-digital-currency-exchanges-of-reporting-obligations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/03\/08\/cybercrime-squad-and-austrac-remind-digital-currency-exchanges-of-reporting-obligations\/","title":{"rendered":"Cybercrime Squad and AUSTRAC remind digital currency exchanges of reporting obligations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NSW Police Force and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) are reminding digital currency exchange providers to be aware of their obligations following amendments to Commonwealth legislation last year.
\nIn April 2018, amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006<\/em> were introduced, which included expanding the scope of the Act to include regulation of digital currency exchange providers.
\nThese changes included registering with AUSTRAC, verifying customer identity, reporting suspicious matters and over-threshold cash transactions; and complying with record-keeping requirements.
\nAUSTRAC National Manager for Regulatory Operations, Dr Nathan Newman, said AUSTRAC worked closely with digital currency exchange providers to prepare them for these laws, which are in place to protect industry from criminal exploitation and in turn, the Australian community.
\n\u201cDigital currency exchange providers have had adequate time and opportunity to comply with these new laws and AUSTRAC has already refused the registration of two digital currency exchange providers. We continue to actively monitor the sector\u2019s compliance,\u201d Dr Newman said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s important that digital currency exchange providers meet their obligations, so we can identify any instances of criminal activity using their services to launder money, fund terrorism or commit other serious crimes.\u201d
\nCybercrime Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Matt Craft, said this is a timely reminder to those who deal in digital currencies to ensure they are meeting their obligations.
\n\u201cWhile cash is still \u2018king\u2019, digital currencies are fast becoming the preferred choice for organised criminal networks involved in money laundering, funding terrorism, and cybercrimes,\u201d Det Supt Craft said.
\n\u201cThese amendments were implemented to ensure digital currencies were being monitored in the same ways as cash exchanges and transfers.
\n\u201cAny information about illicit activity by digital currency exchange providers that is provided to our squad \u2013 whether related to organised crime, terrorism, or technology-enabled crime \u2013 will be actively pursued in partnership with AUSTRAC.
\n\u201cLet this be a warning to digital currency exchange providers: if you fail to comply with your obligations, your actions will not go unnoticed.\u201d
\nDet Supt Craft added that an increase in popularity of Dark Net marketplaces will also mean increased targeting by law enforcement.
\n\u201cGiven the perceived anonymity of the Dark Net, Australian criminal groups are starting to favour the online environment to conduct illicit business,\u201d Det Supt Craft said.
\n\u201cWith police and our partners proactively targeting this space, I\u2019ll assure these networks that their anonymity is no longer guaranteed.\u201d
\nMore information about digital currency exchange providers\u2019 obligations under the Act is available at: http:\/\/www.austrac.gov.au\/digital-currency-exchange-providers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NSW Police Force and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) are reminding digital currency exchange providers to be aware of their obligations following amendments to Commonwealth legislation last year. In April 2018, amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 were introduced, which included expanding the scope of the Act … Continue reading “Cybercrime Squad and AUSTRAC remind digital currency exchanges of reporting obligations”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1774\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}