Austrac has directed Binance Australia to appoint an external auditor after identifying the “”.Serious concerns“Money Laundering Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counterterrorism Financing Management for the world’s largest crypto exchange.
Investbit Pty Ltd, Binance’s Australian division, has 28 days of nominating external auditors for Austrac’s consideration and selection following regulatory involvement across the priority sector.
Global Exchange does not meet local compliance standards
The mandatory audit requirements stem from multiple compliance issues, including its size and business provision, high staff revenue, and Binance’s limited independent review scope related to lack of local resources and monitoring senior management.
Austrac CEO Brendan Thomas emphasized that global operators must understand the funding risks of local money laundering and terrorism, rather than applying general-purpose systems to multiple jurisdictions.
“Companies can have systems and processes that apply to multiple jurisdictions, but they need to reflect local regulatory requirements. The systems must adapt to regulatory requirements rather than the other way around,” he said.
The action against Binance follows Austrac’s broader crypto enforcement campaign, with authorities investigating 50 additional providers, targeting 13 remittance and digital currency exchange providers on compliance issues.
Australia @Austrac It targets 13 remittance and cryptographic service providers over non-compliance. #Australia #cryptcrackdown https://t.co/qtd4qyne4v
– cryptonews.com (@cryptones) February 17, 2025
The agency has cancelled, suspended or denied renewals for nine providers that failed to meet the obligations under the Money Laundering and Counterterrorism Financing Act.
Austrac escalates national crypto enforcement campaigns
Australian regulators dramatically expanded crypto surveillance through systematic enforcement measures targeting non-compliant exchanges and money laundering networks.
Austrac established a Cryptographic Task Force in December to address violations by crypto ATM operators, identifying suspicious activity and concerning trade trends related to fraud and fraud.
The agency contacted 427 registered digital currency exchange providers that appear to be inactive and warned that they would risk registering if they voluntarily retracted.
Many registered platforms have stopped operating, but they remain listed and could expose the system to criminal exploitation by bad actors seeking legitimacy.
Austrac plans to launch a public, searchable registration that allows consumers to see if the crypto exchange is officially registered and registered under regulatory scrutiny.
The initiative addresses growing concerns about criminals who use legal registrations to run fraudulent platforms.
Additionally, ASIC has stepped up enforcement by shutting down an average of 130 fraudulent websites each week, disabling over 10,000 malicious platforms, including 7,200 fake investment sites and 1,500 phishing scams.
Regulators recently secured federal court approval to roll up 95 companies linked to an international “pig slaughter” scheme after receiving nearly 1,500 victim claims totaling a loss of $35.8 million.
Along the way, Melbourne-based Exchange Cointree received a $75,120 fine for filing a suspicious issue report after legal deadlines.
Complex Money Laundering Networks Target Cryptographic Transformations
Australian law enforcement has discovered sophisticated money laundering operations that utilize cryptographic platforms to convert illegal cash into digital assets.
In June, the Queensland Organized Crime Task Force charged four people for an alleged scheme that moved $190 million through a Gold Coast security company, mixing criminal proceeds with legitimate business revenues prior to crypto conversion.
The business included courier services, complex banking arrangements, and dead dropped into multiple Australian cities, collecting and transporting cash to Queensland.
Authorities have curbed $21 million in assets, including 17 properties and multiple vehicles, while running 14 search warrants across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Of the four people charged in Australia’s crypto laundering bust, 9.5% converted victim funds from fake investment sites that provide returns to cryptocurrency.#Australia #cryptohttps://t.co/qkes8repqe
– cryptonews.com (@cryptones) August 7, 2025
In fact, earlier this month, ASIC accused former lawyer Dimitrios Podalis along with three other men to promote investment fraud that converted victim funds into cryptocurrency between January and July 2021.
The scheme utilized fake investment comparison websites and specialized documentation that mimics major financial service providers to deposit funds before persuading the victim to deposit funds.
Similarly, European regulators are also considering penalties for OKX after hackers allegedly washing $100 million in Buit funds stolen via a web3 platform.
The authorities have debated whether OKX’s integrated services fall within the EU market in regulating cryptographic decommissioning, and have recommended revoking some permits and operating restrictions.
Enforcement patterns are expanded internationally, and Binance is facing a money laundering investigation in France for alleged violations of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act.
French prosecutors have insisted on exchanging habitual, habitual money laundering related to drug trafficking and tax fraud across the European Union, but Binance has denied the allegations.
Post-Binance is facing a forced audit over “serious” AML in Australia, with terrorfinance concerns first appearing on Cryptonews.
