Australia targets crypto ATMs in campaign against money laundering

On 15 October, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, announced new rules giving the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) the authority to restrict crypto ATMs. Burke said that the new regulations will curb money laundering and protect vulnerable Australians from scams and financial crime.

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister called ATMs a “high-risk product” linked to money laundering, scams, and child exploitation. Burke asserted that the amendment would enhance AUSTRAC’s ability to mitigate the risks of money laundering associated with crypto ATMs.

Burke highlights rising risks from crypto ATMs

Brendan Thomas, AUSTRAC CEO, agreed to the amendment and stated that if Parliament passes the law, AUSTRAC will be prepared to implement it. Mr Thomas said, “We’re still seeing an unacceptable risk of money laundering across some channels.”

Tony Burke mentioned that having the authority to curb crypto ATMs enables the AUSTRAC CEO to adapt to the evolving risk environment in more responsive ways.

Burke illustrated that crypto transactions are becoming integrated into money laundering methodologies. He added that crypto ATMs present more risks due to the ability to turn cash into digital currency that can be sent instantly and virtually anonymously worldwide.

“This is a product that is multiplying quickly – six years ago there were 23 machines in operation. Three years ago there were 200.When we established the Crypto Taskforce at the end of last year there were 1,200. That number has now risen to 2,000.”

–Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs.

AUSTRAC’s Crypto Taskforce estimated that approximately 150,000 transactions and $275 million are transferred through crypto ATMs in Australia each year. The Crypto Taskforce stated that most high-value crypto ATM transactions were directly linked to money mules and fraud. 

Burke implied that AUSTRAC and its law enforcement partners discovered that 85% of the most frequent users of crypto ATMs in Australia were either money mules or victims of fraud. He argued that the individuals had either been duped or coerced into transferring money.

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister claimed that the majority of crypto ATM users, who account for over 72% of all transactions by value, are between the ages of 50 and 70 and are also the most vulnerable to scams.

AUSTRAC tightens rules targeting crypto ATM risks

AUSTRAC put crypto ATM operators “on notice” in March, sparking the start of the regulatory crackdown. The regulatory crackdown followed the discovery by a team established in late 2023 of “concerning trends and indicators of suspicious activity” related to the ATMs.

As previously reported by Cryptopolitan in June, AUSTRAC implemented new regulations capping deposits and withdrawals at AU$5,000, or about US$3,250. Along with tightening Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering regulations, the agency also requires that ATMs display warning signs to deter fraud.

AUSTRAC media release revealed that the new rules will reduce crypto ATM providers’ exposure to money laundering, terrorism financing, and other serious crime risks.

“We want to ensure crypto ATM providers have robust practices to minimise the risk that their machines can be used to launder dirty money or to scam and defraud innocent people,” 

–Brendan Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, AUSTRAC. 

Notably, AUSTRAC declined to extend the license of Harro’s Empire, a crypto ATM operator, due to concerns about the misuse of ATMs.

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