AUSTRAC Performed First Crypto Fraudster Arrests

The Australian police have arrested a 38-year-old man from Cairnlea in his own house after conducting extensive investigations about his proposed fraudulent activities with the help of cryptocurrencies.

The police raided the man’s house and found exorbitant amounts of cash just lying around the house alongside multiple fake identity documents in order to hide the criminal’s face and real name.

According to the report, several other assets have been seized by the police, including a Bitcoin ATM stationed in a nearby shopping center in Braybrook. Several users have reported that the ATM was fraudulent and was not providing the services it was advertised for. Some people even reported having been directly scammed by the ATM as it refused to pay out cryptocurrencies.

This was one of the first instances where AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center) had to use its e-crime force to identify and confirm the crime. The 38-year-old is suspect of violating the Anti Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act of 2006. If found guilty he may be facing decades in prison with all of the found evidence being confiscated immediately. It is very likely that the man was operating a small cryptocurrency exchange designed for money laundering out of foreign countries and into Australia.