The man used other people’s identities to set up accounts with a cryptocurrency provider, which he used to withdraw stolen bitcoin.
A 46-year-old Australian man has been sentenced to jail for laundering the proceeds of crime through cryptocurrency accounts using stolen identities.
The unnamed man is said to have used the details of identity theft victims to set up multiple online transaction accounts with a cryptocurrency provider.
The man is said to have used the accounts to deposit bitcoin that was stolen in December 2019, before making multiple cash withdrawals from the accounts using cryptocurrency ATMs. The man withdrew a total of AUD 43,350 before being arrested on 3 June 2020. He has been in custody since.
The AFP (Australian Federal Police) launched an investigation after the cryptocurrency provider reported suspicious transactions. The investigation uncovered that the same man was withdrawing cash from accounts in seven different names.
In February 2021, the man pleaded guilty to seven counts of receiving a designated service, namely a digital currency exchange, under a false customer name, contrary to Australia’s AML laws.
On Wednesday (31 March), the man was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment by the Sydney Central Local Court.
The AFP is continuing to investigate the source of the bitcoin deposited into the fraudulent accounts, how the man acquired the identification details for the accounts and whether anyone else may have been involved in the scheme.
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By Sanday Chongo Kabange, April 9, 2021, published on Regulation Asia
