Dr. Moss described a case study of Victorian police seizing $8.5 million in cryptocurrency from a drug trafficking ring, as well as illicit drugs and firearms.
In another example, terrorist sympathizers and supporters used cryptocurrencies to buy weapons, uniforms, and finance the training of Taliban fighters and terrorists in Syria.
International law enforcement authorities have also worked with a digital currency exchange operator to track down perpetrators funneling illicit funds through lawyers and accountants in Singapore, Malaysia and Europe, it said.
Dr Moss said the regulator wanted to work closely with digital currency exchanges and other industry participants to catch criminals trying to evade authorities by using digital currencies like bitcoin.
“An important opportunity on the horizon is to work more closely with the private sector, particularly cryptocurrency exchange providers and services, so that we understand what is happening on the surface of the coal, on the ground in real time and help us keep us abreast of emerging threats. ”
There is mare on 400 local digital currency exchangeis registered for obligations against money laundering and financing of terrorism.
Figures from Chainalysis suggest that $14 billion or 0.15 percent of global cryptocurrency transaction volumes in 2020-21 went to illicit addresses.
In a rough comparison, Moss said that about 0.035 percent of transactions through Australia's big four banks resulted in suspicious matter reports (SMRs), less than a quarter of the rate.
Amid speculation that Russians are increasingly using cryptocurrencies to circumvent Western financial sanctions imposed as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine, Dr. Moss said that the pattern of financial transactions using cryptocurrencies in Russia has not changed much. during the last month.
“It is really hard to imagine crypto being used to move the sums of money that the oligarchs or the Russian central bank need to move to effectively evade sanctions.”
AUSTRAC began regulating digital currency exchange providers in April 2018, making Australia one of the first countries to regulate them for anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing purposes.
AUSTRAC plans to publish two financial crime guides next week.
The government and financial regulators are in the early stages of plans to subject digital assets such as cryptocurrencies to proper licensing and oversight agreements.
A major regulatory loophole for crime-fighting authorities is the transfer of cryptocurrencies across international borders, which is often beyond the reach of AUSTRAC.
