In a move to strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act (AML/CTF), the Australian government is has introduced a new bill.

The Ministry of Justice last week announced the reforms included in the “Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2017” implement the first phase of the recommendations of the Statutory Review of the AML/CTF Act. The bill, in particular, would increase the powers of the Australian Transactions and Reporting Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and bring digital currency exchange providers under its remit.

“The Bill provides net regulatory relief to industry of $36 million annually, with the digital currency exchange sector being regulated for the first time, while deregulating low-risk industries such as cash-in-transit, which is already subject to state and territory licensing requirements,” it said.

The recent move follows the government decision to remove goods-and-services tax (GST) on digital currency purchases.

The bill states, “Providers of registrable digital currency exchange services must be registered with the AUSTRAC CEO.” Additionally, it also requires AUSTRAC CEO to maintain “the Digital Currency Exchange Register.”

ETHNews reported that the bill also outlines penalties for unregistered digital currency exchange service providers. First-time offenders could face imprisonment for 2 years and/or 500 penalty units, while repeat offenders could face up to 7 years in prison and/or 2,000 penalty units.

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