Big news out of Australia – the country’s financial crime watchdog, AUSTRAC, has come down on 13 remittance providers and crypto exchanges. But that’s not all; they’re also digging into over 50 more for potential issues with keeping up with the rules.

Brendan Thomas, the CEO of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC), explained in a statement on February 17th that six providers had their registration renewals turned down. Why? Because key people in those businesses had some serious offenses in their past – convictions, prosecutions, or charges – that raised red flags about their honesty and integrity.

And it doesn’t stop there. Over 50 other businesses in the remittance and crypto exchange space have received warnings. Think of these alerts as a heads-up that regulatory action could be coming if they don’t shape up regarding reporting suspicious activity and transactions.

“The blitz follows AUSTRAC’s analysis that identified systemic non-reporting and under-reporting in the remittance and digital currency exchange sectors.”

“We kicked off an investigation early last year to find and get rid of those who weren’t playing by the rules and to generally improve how these industries report suspicious stuff,” Thomas added, giving a bit more background on the crackdown.

A spokesperson from AUSTRAC chatted with Cointelegraph, clarifying that this recent move targeted both traditional money transfer services and the crypto world. They looked at businesses of all sizes across both industries, so no one was off the hook.

Interestingly, not every business caught up in this was dealing with crypto. For the 50 or so remittance and exchange services getting a closer look, the main concern is “non-reporting and under-reporting of transactions,” whether they’re in regular currency or digital coins.

“These letters are basically to remind businesses of what’s expected of them. How they respond to these letters – or even if they respond – could play a role in AUSTRAC deciding if they need to take further steps,” the spokesperson pointed out.

Thomas also mentioned that two other providers are now under stricter conditions on their registrations. They apparently didn’t quite meet all the requirements on time.

Now, they’re officially on notice. If they don’t meet these conditions going forward, they could face suspension or even have their registrations completely canceled. On top of that, three other companies who were denied registration have already stopped operating in Australia.

In related news, two crypto exchanges that went under – FTX Australia’s subsidiary, FTX Express, and Zipmex Australia – have been taken off the country’s list of registered Digital Currency Exchanges due to their insolvencies.

Just to give you an idea of scale, AUSTRAC says there are currently 417 registered digital currency exchanges and a whopping 5,112 remittance services in Australia.

Back in December, Thomas hinted that AUSTRAC would be turning up the heat on the cryptocurrency industry in 2025. This comes amid an ongoing crackdown on crypto ATM operators who might be bending or breaking anti-money laundering laws.

Going back to December, it was also the month AUSTRAC floated the idea of stricter rules for Anti-Money Laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF). The aim? To get a tighter grip on the crypto industry and fight financial crime more effectively.

Adding to this, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) also put out a consultation paper in December, seeking input on proposed guidance for crypto. This move could classify many digital assets as financial products, meaning crypto firms would need to get licensed to operate.