Australia Shuts Down 95 Crypto and Romance Scam Companies
Australia’s financial regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has successfully dissolved 95 companies involved in crypto and romance scams.
This action, approved by the Federal Court on April 7, highlights a crackdown on fraudulent operations that misled victims with fake company registrations and bogus investment opportunities.
Scam Companies Misled Victims with Fake Investments
These companies were part of a broader fraud network tied to the “pig butchering” scam model. This model combines emotional manipulation with fake crypto investment schemes to deceive victims into parting with large sums of money. Operating under the guise of legitimate businesses, these companies promoted non-existent investment opportunities in crypto, foreign exchange, and commodities.
ASIC’s Deputy Chair, Sarah Court, emphasized that these scams posed a serious consumer risk, as they were often masked with convincing websites and fraudulent corporate identities. This decision to shut down these entities was critical in protecting the public from further harm.
Ongoing Fight Against Online Scams
Despite the recent victories, ASIC’s fight against scams continues. Court described these fraudulent operations as a “hydra,” meaning that for every scam site shut down, new ones often emerge quickly. In an effort to stay ahead, ASIC removes over 130 scam websites weekly, but the persistence of such activities remains a major concern.
As part of the ruling, the court appointed joint liquidators, Catherine Conneely and Thomas Birch from Cor Cordis, to handle the dissolution of these companies. Nearly 1,500 claims have been submitted so far, with total losses exceeding $35 million, impacting victims from 14 countries, including the U.S., Australia, India, Ghana, and France. However, the assets of the dissolved companies amounted to just $33,018, with liabilities totaling over $38.6 million.
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
