ASIC to Axe 95 Firms Behind Crypto and Romance Scam Rings

The country’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), brought the case forward after finding that many of these businesses were set up using false information.

According to an April 8 statement from ASIC, these companies claimed to offer real services but were likely part of schemes designed to trick people out of their money. They were said to follow a pattern known as "pig butchering".

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The Federal Court supported ASIC’s request to wind down the companies, saying the action was fair and necessary. The court based its decision on multiple misconduct reviews involving 17 of the companies. These showed clear signs of scams that targeted people by building trust and encouraging them to make large financial transfers.

Catherine Conneely and Thomas Birch from Cor Cordis have been chosen as the official liquidators. Their initial review found that only three of the 95 companies had assets. Based on that, they recommended that the rest be closed and removed from the corporate register.

Nearly 1,500 complaints have been submitted by people who say they lost money through these schemes. The total amount claimed adds up to more than $35 million. Victims are from 14 countries, including Australia, the United States, India, the Philippines, and France.

Meanwhile, on April 7, Spanish authorities arrested six individuals connected to a large-scale investment scam. So how did the scammers manage to pull it off? Read the full story.