Source: Cointelegraph Original: "{title}"
The Australian corporate regulator has been approved to shut down 95 companies suspected of participating in cryptocurrency investment and "pig butchering" romance scams.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) proposed the liquidation of these companies, which has been approved by the Federal Court of Australia on the grounds of "fairness and reasonableness." ASIC found that most of these companies provided false information at the time of registration.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court stated in a statement on April 8 that many of these companies claimed to offer "legitimate services," but were actually considered to be deceiving victims.
Judge Angus Stewart noted in a ruling on April 4: "These scams exhibit a common pattern of 'pig butchering'." He had previously reviewed 48 "misconduct review" reports involving 17 companies suspected of assisting romance scams. The ruling was made on March 21.
Source: Rocky Perrotta
The "pig butchering" scam refers to fraudsters winning victims' trust by establishing false emotional relationships, and then inducing them to invest in fake cryptocurrency or financial projects.
The Australian securities regulator also suspects that most of these fraudulent activities originate from Southeast Asia.
Catherine Conneely and Thomas Birch from the bankruptcy and restructuring advisory firm Cor Cordis have been appointed as joint liquidators for these 95 companies.
According to court orders, the interim liquidators have received nearly 1,500 claims from "investors," totaling over AUD 35.8 million.
These claimants are spread across 14 countries, including Australia, the United States, Cameroon, Ghana, India, Nepal, the Philippines, and France.
The interim liquidators found that only 3 of the 95 companies had assets, recommending that the remaining 92 companies be liquidated and immediately deregistered.
ASIC is shutting down scam websites
ASIC stated that it removes about 130 scam websites each week, with a total of over 10,000 websites removed so far, including more than 7,200 fake investment platform scams and 1,564 phishing scam websites.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said: "However, these scams are like a 'hydra'; you cut off one head, and two more grow back immediately. Therefore, we are warning consumers that the risks of scams and identity theft remain high. We remind consumers to stay vigilant."
The Australian National Anti-Scam Centre recently reported that losses due to scams in 2024 have decreased by 26% to AUD 2 billion, while the number of scam reports has also decreased by 17.8% to 494,732.
Related: "Stablecoin Bill" Passed: A Milestone in U.S. Cryptocurrency Regulation or a Trigger for Conflicts of Interest?
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