A 52-year-old woman was arrested by New South Wales police last month for her part in running an illegal cryptocurrency exchange. The case is the first of its kind in Australian history.
The woman’s arrest came as part of a government crackdown on unlawful cryptocurrency exchanges, which officials say can be used to launder money and fund criminal activities such as cyberattacks and terrorism.
The woman – whose identity is currently being concealed – has been charged with three counts of intentionally dealing with the proceeds of crime as well as violating crypto and fiat exchange laws. She will appear for a hearing before the Burwood Local Court on July 20, 2020.
“It will be alleged as part of this investigation that the cryptocurrency wallet used by the individuals involved has transacted since 2017 over 326 Bitcoin,” said an official statement from Cybercrime Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Matthew Craft. “That equates to over $5 million (US$3.2 million) in today’s money. This is a significant quantity of Bitcoin for somebody who is not a registered digital currency exchange.”
Australia allows cryptocurrency exchanges to operate freely as long as they are licenced by the Australian Transaction Reports Centre. Unlicensed exchanges face prosecution under the law.
The government has generally fostered a favourable environment for cryptocurrency, which is legally considered as property and subject to the Capital Gains Tax.
The broad acceptance of crypto has apparently emboldened cybercriminals looking to transfer funds illegally, but police say they will be looking to make more arrests for this type of crime in the future.