Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is seeking to grant new powers to the country’s anti-money laundering watchdog to crack down on cryptocurrency ATMs.
Burke has proposed measures to allow the Australian Transaction Reporting and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) to restrict or ban certain high-risk products, according to an announcement on Thursday.
The announcement did not specifically outline what the new powers would be, but indicated that more details on the proposed changes would be available in due course.
Crypto ATMs allow users to purchase cryptocurrency by inserting cash or a bank card and having the crypto delivered to a wallet. However, they are often used for nefarious activities. Fraudsters may, for example, advertise products for sale, ask their buyer to deposit funds into a specific wallet, and then disappear.
There are 2,100 such terminals in Australia, according to data provided by Coin ATM Radar.
AUSTRAC specifically cited crypto ATMs as an example of a product it sought to restrict, as they allow money launderers to convert cash into digital currency “that can be sent instantly and virtually anonymously across the world”.
“This is a rapidly growing product: six years ago there were 23 machines in operation,” said Brendan Thomas, CEO of AUSTRAC. “Three years ago there were 200… That number is now 2,000.”
AUSTRAC said the majority of high-value crypto ATM transactions were directly associated with scams or money transfers to high-risk jurisdictions, based on a sample of 90 of the most prolific users, 85% of whom were directly associated with scams or similar.
The watchdog imposed restrictions on the use of crypto ATMs earlier this year. limit cash deposits and withdrawals and require operators to increase due diligence.
Read more: New Zealand wants to ban crypto ATMs in anti-money laundering overhaul
