Airwallex’s AUSTRAC albatross
The financial crimes regulator came out swinging at Airwallex in January. Eight months later, no one wants to talk about it.
The financial crimes regulator came out swinging in mid-January to reveal one of the country’s largest technology businesses, Airwallex, was the subject of a long-running money laundering probe and would be forced into an independent audit.
The head of Australia's financial crimes regulator, Brendan Thomas, gave an interview to The Australian Financial Review at the time to explain AUSTRAC was concerned the fintech, last valued at $16 billion, had failed to stop the proceeds of child abuse being washed through its platform.
"We have particular concerns about people who create fake accounts to push money through for online child sex abuse payments. We expect a company at the size and scale of Airwallex to be tailoring their controls to that risk," he said on January 22 after the 180-day probe was announced as part of a broader sector crackdown.
Eight months later, everyone seems surprised there are some follow up questions. Namely, what is the outcome of the investigation that examined Airwallex's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism compliance between 2024 and 2026?
