The Australian Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee published a document last week stating that”The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2017 Soon, the bill will be passed. The Senate introduced the bill in August. It contains provisions that can make changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act of 2006. (AML/CTF Act). These measures will strengthen the Act and increase the power of the Australian Transactions and Reporting Analysis Centre. It also stated that it wanted to regulate the digital currency provider service hemisphere. It stated that:
“The bill seeks to establish a new registered service to regulate digital currency exchange. It will be implemented within six months from the bill’s initiation. The bill amends AML/CTF Act in order to impose a variety of civil penalties on unregistered persons providing digital currency exchange services. All are subject to strict liability em>
The document stated that “Submitters of the inquiry were generally supportive”
Also read:Australian Government introduces the ‘Double taxation’ relief bill for cryptocurrency
During the period of public comment, the committee was called. The website of Parliament of Australia reports that nine submissions were received. Two of them were related to cryptocurrency. Nyman Gibson Miralis is a prominent Australian criminal law firm. According to the firm, the proposed legislative amendments don’t seem to consider the possibility that an individual could simply choose to trade with a foreign currency provider. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency are able to transcend Australia’s jurisdiction .”
A submission was also made by an Australian fintech company regarding digital currency. If implemented, it can be used to pay dues via Bitcoin. Living Room of Satoshi CEO Daniel Alexiuc wrote “The proposed legislation will have effect of requiring KYC procedures for our customers for even small transactions.” He explained that the majority of transactions his company has entered into are under AUD$1000, and those exceeding the $1000 threshold are fully KYC-compliant.
He explained that KYC requirements for low-value payments would create unnecessary friction and make the system less attractive than existing payment systems, even though they may be more expensive. This legislation will have an impact on our business and will impede future innovation in small payments. Many of our customers will feel that KYC is unnecessary and too complicated for small amounts. This will also reduce the competition in the payments sector.” He also proposed the use of the AUD$1000 threshold to low-value non-cash payment facilities and wanted to include “an exemption from KYC requirements em>