Two Australian Crypto Exchanges Suspended In Connection With Drug Trafficking Case

The anti-money laundering watchdog of Australia has suspended the registration of two crypto exchanges that were allegedly connected with a drug trafficking case according to the agency’s press release so we are about to find out more in out digital currency news today.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), aims to prevent tax evasion, money laundering, terrorism, and welfare fraud and has now suspended both of the exchanges because they were associated with a suspect in alleged organized crime group.

The joint press release from the agency and the Federal Police of Australia shows that a 27-year old man was arrested for multiple drug trafficking-related crimes. The investigation showed that the same man was one of the most important members of the crypto exchange businesses and this is why the watchdog suspended their operations.

This is the first crypto exchange that is under suspension of AUSTRAC since the new legislation was brought up last year the country. It seems that there is a decline in the number of crypto-related crimes and frauds this year. In 2018, about $1.8 billion in crypto were obtained via illicit means according to published research by the crypto analytics company CipherTrace.

In the news related to crimes and fraud, the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom revealed that the investment scams related to crypto reached up to $255 million in losses for investors in 2018 for all of the reported cases.

Also, the South Korean Supreme Prosecutors’ Office established a new task force that has a goal of lowering down the number of crypto-related scams since in 2018 the number of such crimes in the country increased up to 4,591 from the previous 53 reported in 2016.