Brendan Gunn, the brother of famous Australian breakdancer Rachel Gunn (Ray Gunn), has been at the centre of a scandal. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has charged him with money laundering through a cryptocurrency scheme.
According to the investigation, he processed cheques totalling 181,000$ from three investors who wanted to convert them into digital assets. The regulator claims Mr Gunn tried to open several bank accounts to receive and transfer funds, but the banks closed them on suspicion of fraud. He was repeatedly warned about the risks, but he continued to operate despite the restrictions. If convicted, Brendan Gunn faces up to three years in prison or a fine of 37,800$
This is not the first time Australia has faced a large-scale cryptocurrency scam: in 2021, investors lost 21 million$ due to the collapse of MyCryptoWallet and Blockchain Global Limited (ACX); in 2022, Digital Surge, Mine Digital and TrigonX all went bankrupt, leading to further financial losses. In the last week alone, ASIC has blocked 10,240 fraudulent websites, including 7,227 fake investment platforms, 1,564 phishing pages and 1,257 cryptocurrency scams.
The Australian government has tightened its control over the cryptocurrency market after a series of high-profile fraud cases. The Brendan Gunn case is yet another example of the government’s willingness to punish those who use digital assets to launder money, and efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies are getting tougher every year.
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