Crypto Exchange Gets Slammed: AUSTRAC Hits Cointree with $75K Fine! 🚨💸

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When Reporting Becomes a Joke, Who Pays the Price? 🎭💰

The mighty Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has descended upon Cointree, that lively crypto playground, pounding its chest with infringement notices totaling a hefty $75,120! Why? Because Cointree, that daring digital exchange, dared to forget the sacred ritual — reporting suspicious activities on time. And oh, how the law courts laugh — or so they think. 🐍

Self-Reporting and Still Fine! What a Surprise! 😂

Yes, you read it right. The portal to the digital goldmine, Cointree, blinked and missed the deadline for reporting suspicious matters, that stuff that keeps the authorities busy and the criminals, well, on edge. The Australian financial watchdog, AUSTRAC, which apparently has more patience for tardiness than a school teacher with a detention slip, handed over these fines after Cointree, in a rare act of honesty, admits it bungled the schedule. Bravo! Or perhaps just a sign of the times? 🥴

The maestro behind this circus, Brendan Thomas, explained with all the seriousness of a man at his wit’s end, that exchanges which neglect their duties give the law less to work with. Less evidence, more trouble, dear crypto jesters! “SMRs,” he calls them, secretive reports that tell tales of shadowy financial deeds—wonderful tools for law enforcement or just busybodies? Either way, they make the world go round, or so they say.

He added, with perhaps a smirk behind his stern tone, that Cointree’s self-reporting was adorable but not enough, and if they don’t shape up, the hammer of regulation will come down harder—because who doesn’t love a good crackdown? 💥

Just a few months ago, AUSTRAC flexed its muscles against 13 other crypto outfits, warning them with the gentle touch of a sledgehammer: “Obey us, or we’ll find you.” And find them they did—those non-compliant exchanges better start sweating bullets, folks.

Crypto fines illustration

Australian rules are clear: suspect money laundering? Report within 3 days. Terrorist financing? 24 hours. Fail, and you’re in trouble! Surprise, surprise. Who knew rules could be so complicated? 🤷‍♂️

Thomas, that lovely regulator, couldn’t contain his excitement about the rising risk of digital assets—probably because it’s easier to catch a rogue than to find a unicorn. His advice? Get your act together, or beware the consequences. Because in this game, systems that don’t report are just sitting ducks—probably as clueless as a rooster at dawn.

So, dear crypto players, if you think you can dodge the watchdogs with a little delay here and there, think again. Those “systems” better be ready, or you’ll be next in line for a good smack with the regulatory paddle! 😏

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2025-05-18 07:58