Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments.
Largest money laundering scandal in Australia unravels
Changjiang Currency Exchange, a money transmitter business based in Australia, has beenbustedin a 230 million Aussie dollar ($145 million) money laundering scandal.
On Oct. 26, a 300-strong police operation spanning Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth arrested seven individuals — four Chinese citizens and three Australian nationals — after a 14-month investigation.
Operating under the front of a legitimate currency exchange business, police say that Changjiang Currency Exchange helped launder dirty funds and tainted cryptocurrency from investment scams and unregistered crypto exchanges.
In one single incident, a 37-year-old Chinese national was accused of using Changjiang’s services to launder AU$100 million ($63 million) worth of funds received from a multinational Ponzi scheme.
Australian Federal Police investigating the Changjiang Currency Exchange (AFP)
The investigation began after law enforcement officials noticed irregular traffic at Changjiang kiosks across Australia during a time of strict COVID-19-related lockdowns. Police have since seized AU$21 million ($13.27 million) in cash and various luxury items believed to have been purchased using proceeds of crime. The investigation remains ongoing.
Bitget’s colorful Q3
Crypto derivatives exchange Bitget hasrisento become the fourth-largest by volume, trailing behind only Binance, OKX and Bybit.
In an Oct. 20 Bitget transparency report, Bitget claimed that its market share had risen to 9.43%, compared to negligible volume just two years ago. During Q3 2023, the exchange says it onboarded over 9,000 traders along with 85,000 followers or copy-traders, who together achieved a net trading profit of $6.7 million. However, the combined industry trading activity fell by 23% year-over-year to $4.8 trillion in the quarter.
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