InvestbyBit Pty Ltd t/a Binance Australia
Dear Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre,
I am looking for documents regarding InvestbyBit Pty Ltd (ABN 98 621 652 579), registered with AUSTRAC as a Digital Currency Exchange Provider, and currently operating under the name Binance Australia.
I am looking for the following documents:
- written notices to this company regarding the potential of money laundering/terrorist financing or compliance with AML/CTF law
- infringement notices for breaches of the AML/CTF Act
- ML/TF financing risk assessments provided to AUSTRAC
- audit reports provided to AUSTRAC
- enforcement actions taken against this company
- registration actions taken against this company
Yours faithfully,
Frank Lee
This is an automated response to your email which has been received by the
Privacy and Information Access team at AUSTRAC. A team member will be in
contact with you shortly.
If you would like to talk to us about your email, please phone 02 6120
2631.
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contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
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OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Lee,
Thank you for submitting a request for access to information you believe
to be held by AUSTRAC. In accordance with section 15(5)(a) of the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), I formally acknowledge receipt of your
freedom of information request for access to:
“I am looking for documents regarding InvestbyBit Pty Ltd (ABN 98 621 652
579), registered with AUSTRAC as a Digital Currency Exchange Provider, and
currently operating under the name Binance Australia.
I am looking for the following documents:
- written notices to this company regarding the potential of money
laundering/terrorist financing or compliance with AML/CTF law
- infringement notices for breaches of the AML/CTF Act
- ML/TF financing risk assessments provided to AUSTRAC
- audit reports provided to AUSTRAC
- enforcement actions taken against this company
- registration actions taken against this company”
Under section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act the statutory time frame for
processing a request is 30 days, within which a decision on access to the
requested documents is to be notified. We received your request on 9
September 2021 and the 30 day statutory period for processing your request
commenced from the day after that date.
Charges
AUSTRAC may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations. If your request for access to documents attracts a charge,
you will be notified in writing. Note: There is no charge for documents
that contain the personal information of the applicant.
Exclusion of non-SES staff details, and SES staff contact details
AUSTRAC’s policy is to exclude the details (name, position title,
telephone and/or mobile number, and email address) of officers not in the
Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the contact details (telephone
and/or mobile number and email address) of SES staff, contained in
documents that fall within scope of an FOI request. If you require names,
position titles and contact details of non-SES officers, or the contact
details of SES staff, please inform us so that the decision maker may
consider your request. Otherwise, we will take it that you agree to the
information being excluded from the scope of your request.
If you have any questions in relation to your request, or require further
information, please contact the Privacy and Information Access team at
[1][email address] and quote reference PIAT-3892.
Regards
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and
Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch [5]cid:image004.png@01D74CC3.C6D41340
E: [2][email address]
[3]cid:image002.png@01D27019.ABF020E0@AUSTRAC
W: [4]www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
**********************************************************************
Please note that your email address is known to AUSTRAC for the
purposes of communicating with you. The information transmitted in
this e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
received this information in error you must not disseminate, copy or
take any action on it and we request that you delete all copies of
this transmission together with attachments and notify the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.
**********************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.austrac.gov.au/
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Lee,
I refer to the below matter. The purpose of today’s correspondence is to
seek a 10 day extension of time to process your Freedom of Information
(FOI) request. Extensions of time can be requested and granted in
accordance with s 15AA of the FOI Act.
In terms of the progression of your request, we have identified a number
of documents in scope of your request and have been making progress toward
a decision. I don’t predict the FOI decision will be finalised by the
current due date of Monday 11 October 2021. Therefore, I seek your
agreement to extend the due date by 10 days which would result in the new
due date being Thursday 21 October 2021.
If you could please confirm with us as soon as possible if you agree to
the extension, that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Regards,
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and
Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch [4]cid:image004.png@01D74CC3.C6D41340
E: [1][email address]
[2]cid:image002.png@01D27019.ABF020E0@AUSTRAC
W: [3]www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
From: INFO_ACCESS
Sent: Monday, 13 September 2021 11:24 AM
To: Frank Lee <[FOI #7846 email]>
Subject: Acknowledgement of FOI Request - PIAT-3892 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Lee,
Thank you for submitting a request for access to information you believe
to be held by AUSTRAC. In accordance with section 15(5)(a) of the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), I formally acknowledge receipt of your
freedom of information request for access to:
“I am looking for documents regarding InvestbyBit Pty Ltd (ABN 98 621 652
579), registered with AUSTRAC as a Digital Currency Exchange Provider, and
currently operating under the name Binance Australia.
I am looking for the following documents:
- written notices to this company regarding the potential of money
laundering/terrorist financing or compliance with AML/CTF law
- infringement notices for breaches of the AML/CTF Act
- ML/TF financing risk assessments provided to AUSTRAC
- audit reports provided to AUSTRAC
- enforcement actions taken against this company
- registration actions taken against this company”
Under section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act the statutory time frame for
processing a request is 30 days, within which a decision on access to the
requested documents is to be notified. We received your request on 9
September 2021 and the 30 day statutory period for processing your request
commenced from the day after that date.
Charges
AUSTRAC may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations. If your request for access to documents attracts a charge,
you will be notified in writing. Note: There is no charge for documents
that contain the personal information of the applicant.
Exclusion of non-SES staff details, and SES staff contact details
AUSTRAC’s policy is to exclude the details (name, position title,
telephone and/or mobile number, and email address) of officers not in the
Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the contact details (telephone
and/or mobile number and email address) of SES staff, contained in
documents that fall within scope of an FOI request. If you require names,
position titles and contact details of non-SES officers, or the contact
details of SES staff, please inform us so that the decision maker may
consider your request. Otherwise, we will take it that you agree to the
information being excluded from the scope of your request.
If you have any questions in relation to your request, or require further
information, please contact the Privacy and Information Access team at
[5][email address] and quote reference PIAT-3892.
Regards
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and
Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch [9]cid:image004.png@01D74CC3.C6D41340
E: [6][email address]
[7]cid:image002.png@01D27019.ABF020E0@AUSTRAC
W: [8]www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
**********************************************************************
Please note that your email address is known to AUSTRAC for the
purposes of communicating with you. The information transmitted in
this e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
received this information in error you must not disseminate, copy or
take any action on it and we request that you delete all copies of
this transmission together with attachments and notify the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.
**********************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.austrac.gov.au/
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[email address]
8. http://www.austrac.gov.au/
Dear Ms Smith,
Thank you for your work to date. I consent to the 10-day extension and the new due date of Thursday 21 October 2021.
I note that shortly after this FOI request was made to AUSTRAC, this company appears to have changed its policy regarding certain financial products it offers, in particular no longer offering the use of options, leveraged tokens, and futures. The company has publicly stated that this is to comply with Australian regulations. As such, I would appreciate it if you could provide all relevant documents which may be covered by the scope of this FOI request up to the new due date.
Yours sincerely,
Frank Lee
This is an automated response to your email which has been received by the
Privacy and Information Access team at AUSTRAC. A team member will be in
contact with you shortly.
If you would like to talk to us about your email, please phone 02 6120
2631.
**********************************************************************
Please note that your email address is known to AUSTRAC for the
purposes of communicating with you. The information transmitted in
this e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
received this information in error you must not disseminate, copy or
take any action on it and we request that you delete all copies of
this transmission together with attachments and notify the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.
**********************************************************************
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Lee,
Thank you for the extension of time, this is much appreciated. I'm confident your request will be finalised by the new due date.
In respect to the request to expand the FOI scope to additional documents, FOI requests are treated on the merits of the scope of request when they are received and deemed valid in accordance with s 15.
If you wish to lodge a fresh FOI request for documents that reside outside your original scope, you are welcome to do so and AUSTRAC would process such a newly received FOI request accordingly.
Regards,
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch
E: [email address]
@AUSTRAC W: www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Lee <[FOI #7846 email]>
Sent: Friday, 8 October 2021 3:30 PM
To: INFO_ACCESS <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Extension of Time Request - PIAT-3892 [SEC=OFFICIAL] [EXTERNAL]
Dear Ms Smith,
Thank you for your work to date. I consent to the 10-day extension and the new due date of Thursday 21 October 2021.
I note that shortly after this FOI request was made to AUSTRAC, this company appears to have changed its policy regarding certain financial products it offers, in particular no longer offering the use of options, leveraged tokens, and futures. The company has publicly stated that this is to comply with Australian regulations. As such, I would appreciate it if you could provide all relevant documents which may be covered by the scope of this FOI request up to the new due date.
Yours sincerely,
Frank Lee
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Lee,
I refer to the below matter. The purpose of today’s correspondence is to
seek a 10 day extension of time to process your Freedom of Information
(FOI) request. Extensions of time can be requested and granted in
accordance with s 15AA of the FOI Act.
In terms of the progression of your request, we have identified a number
of documents in scope of your request and have been making progress toward
a decision. I don’t predict the FOI decision will be finalised by the
current due date of Monday 11 October 2021. Therefore, I seek your
agreement to extend the due date by 10 days which would result in the new
due date being Thursday 21 October 2021.
If you could please confirm with us as soon as possible if you agree to
the extension, that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Regards,
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and
Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch [4]cid:image004.png@01D74CC3.C6D41340
E: [1][email address]
[2]cid:image002.png@01D27019.ABF020E0@AUSTRAC
W: [3]www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
From: INFO_ACCESS
Sent: Monday, 13 September 2021 11:24 AM
To: Frank Lee <[FOI #7846 email]>
Subject: Acknowledgement of FOI Request - PIAT-3892 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Lee,
Thank you for submitting a request for access to information you believe
to be held by AUSTRAC. In accordance with section 15(5)(a) of the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), I formally acknowledge receipt of your
freedom of information request for access to:
“I am looking for documents regarding InvestbyBit Pty Ltd (ABN 98 621 652
579), registered with AUSTRAC as a Digital Currency Exchange Provider, and
currently operating under the name Binance Australia.
I am looking for the following documents:
- written notices to this company regarding the potential of money
laundering/terrorist financing or compliance with AML/CTF law
- infringement notices for breaches of the AML/CTF Act
- ML/TF financing risk assessments provided to AUSTRAC
- audit reports provided to AUSTRAC
- enforcement actions taken against this company
- registration actions taken against this company”
Under section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act the statutory time frame for
processing a request is 30 days, within which a decision on access to the
requested documents is to be notified. We received your request on 9
September 2021 and the 30 day statutory period for processing your request
commenced from the day after that date.
Charges
AUSTRAC may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations. If your request for access to documents attracts a charge,
you will be notified in writing. Note: There is no charge for documents
that contain the personal information of the applicant.
Exclusion of non-SES staff details, and SES staff contact details
AUSTRAC’s policy is to exclude the details (name, position title,
telephone and/or mobile number, and email address) of officers not in the
Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the contact details (telephone
and/or mobile number and email address) of SES staff, contained in
documents that fall within scope of an FOI request. If you require names,
position titles and contact details of non-SES officers, or the contact
details of SES staff, please inform us so that the decision maker may
consider your request. Otherwise, we will take it that you agree to the
information being excluded from the scope of your request.
If you have any questions in relation to your request, or require further
information, please contact the Privacy and Information Access team at
[5][email address] and quote reference PIAT-3892.
Regards
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and
Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch [9]cid:image004.png@01D74CC3.C6D41340
E: [6][email address]
[7]cid:image002.png@01D27019.ABF020E0@AUSTRAC
W: [8]www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[email address]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7846 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
Please note that your email address is known to AUSTRAC for the
purposes of communicating with you. The information transmitted in
this e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
received this information in error you must not disseminate, copy or
take any action on it and we request that you delete all copies of
this transmission together with attachments and notify the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.
**********************************************************************
Good afternoon,
For clarity, I submitted my request for relevant documents on 9 September. I understand the company has made some changes to their policies after this date, which appear to coincide with the subject of this request. The company announced this change on or about 21 September. I am interested as to whether there were any regulatory actions which took place after 9 September that prompted this change in company policy.
In order to get documents within the original scope of the requested relevant documents, but dated between 9 September and the new due date of 21 October, I would need to submit a new FOI request asking for the same type of documents in this request.
Have I understood that correctly? I am happy to do so if that is the case.
Yours sincerely,
Frank Lee
This is an automated response to your email which has been received by the
Privacy and Information Access team at AUSTRAC. A team member will be in
contact with you shortly.
If you would like to talk to us about your email, please phone 02 6120
2631.
**********************************************************************
Please note that your email address is known to AUSTRAC for the
purposes of communicating with you. The information transmitted in
this e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
received this information in error you must not disseminate, copy or
take any action on it and we request that you delete all copies of
this transmission together with attachments and notify the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.
**********************************************************************
OFFICIAL
Good morning Mr Lee,
That is correct, AUSTRAC are processing your existing FOI request from the date received. Any new documents you wish to seek access to would need to be requested under a new FOI request.
If you wish to replicate the same scope of request (below for your convenience) during the date range 9 September 2021 - 18 October 2021 (or date of new FOI request lodgement) that is workable. If you are seeking any documents outside the below, please ensure you accompany your FOI request with as much information as possible describing the documents you seek access to that sit outside the below scope.
I am looking for the following documents:
- written notices to this company regarding the potential of money laundering/terrorist financing or compliance with AML/CTF law
- infringement notices for breaches of the AML/CTF Act
- ML/TF financing risk assessments provided to AUSTRAC
- audit reports provided to AUSTRAC
- enforcement actions taken against this company
- registration actions taken against this company
Thank you.
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch
E: [email address]
@AUSTRAC W: www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Lee <[FOI #7846 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 13 October 2021 1:50 PM
To: INFO_ACCESS <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Extension of Time Request - PIAT-3892 [EXTERNAL] [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Good afternoon,
For clarity, I submitted my request for relevant documents on 9 September. I understand the company has made some changes to their policies after this date, which appear to coincide with the subject of this request. The company announced this change on or about 21 September. I am interested as to whether there were any regulatory actions which took place after 9 September that prompted this change in company policy.
In order to get documents within the original scope of the requested relevant documents, but dated between 9 September and the new due date of 21 October, I would need to submit a new FOI request asking for the same type of documents in this request.
Have I understood that correctly? I am happy to do so if that is the case.
Yours sincerely,
Frank Lee
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Lee,
Thank you for the extension of time, this is much appreciated. I'm confident your request will be finalised by the new due date.
In respect to the request to expand the FOI scope to additional documents, FOI requests are treated on the merits of the scope of request when they are received and deemed valid in accordance with s 15.
If you wish to lodge a fresh FOI request for documents that reside outside your original scope, you are welcome to do so and AUSTRAC would process such a newly received FOI request accordingly.
Regards,
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch
E: [email address]
@AUSTRAC W: www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7846 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
Please note that your email address is known to AUSTRAC for the
purposes of communicating with you. The information transmitted in
this e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
received this information in error you must not disseminate, copy or
take any action on it and we request that you delete all copies of
this transmission together with attachments and notify the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.
**********************************************************************
OFFICIAL
Good morning,
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your freedom of
information request. I am facilitating this correspondence on behalf of
the FOI decision maker.
If you have any questions or wish to provide feedback on your experience
working with us, please contact the Privacy and Information Access Team
via email at [1][email address].
Kind regards
Ashley Smith | Manager, Privacy and
Information Access Team
Privacy and Information Access Team
Legal and Enforcement Branch [5]cid:image004.png@01D74CC3.C6D41340
E: [2][email address]
[3]cid:image002.png@01D27019.ABF020E0@AUSTRAC
W: [4]www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
**********************************************************************
Please note that your email address is known to AUSTRAC for the
purposes of communicating with you. The information transmitted in
this e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
received this information in error you must not disseminate, copy or
take any action on it and we request that you delete all copies of
this transmission together with attachments and notify the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.
**********************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.austrac.gov.au/
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon,
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your freedom of
information request.
If you have any questions or wish to provide feedback on your experience
working with us, please contact the Privacy and Information Access Team
via email at [1][email address].
Kind regards
Stephanie Hawkins | A/g Manager
Privacy and Information Access Team / Legal and Policy
E: [email address]
[2]cid:image002.png@01D27019.ABF020E0@AUSTRAC W:
www.austrac.gov.au
OFFICIAL
**********************************************************************
Please note that your email address is known to AUSTRAC for the
purposes of communicating with you. The information transmitted in
this e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential and/or legally privileged material. If you have
received this information in error you must not disseminate, copy or
take any action on it and we request that you delete all copies of
this transmission together with attachments and notify the sender.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.
**********************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]