Australia's financial crime regulator has instructed Binance Australia to appoint an independent auditor due to significant concerns regarding the cryptocurrency exchange's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has identified serious issues with Binance's compliance controls, citing high staff turnover, inadequate local resources, and insufficient senior management oversight. Binance Australia must nominate external auditors within 28 days for AUSTRAC's evaluation. In response, Matt Poblocki, General Manager of Binance Australia and New Zealand, stated that the company has been cooperating with AUSTRAC and remains committed to upholding the highest compliance standards.
This development is the latest in a series of regulatory challenges faced by Binance, including warnings from various regulatory bodies in 2021 and the sentencing of its founder, Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao, to four months in US federal prison in 2024 for violating money laundering laws. AUSTRAC has been actively overseeing the digital asset industry, recently implementing measures to regulate crypto ATM providers due to concerns about their potential use in scams.