Multiple Australian Regulators Team Up to Oppose the Launch of Libra

After the United States and Europe, the Australian financial regulators now came forward to resist the launch of Facebook’s proposed digital currency.

Eight regulators in the country joined forces to probe Libra; however, the details provided by the social media giant failed to satisfy their concerns, the Australian reported on Wednesday.

The regulators, which include the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), the Office of the Australian Information ­Commissioner (OAIC), Austrac, and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, had a meeting with the US executives of Facebook last month.

The watchdogs are concerned that the privately-controlled digital currency will become a tool for cyber scammers and were also alarmed by privacy concerns. Like their global counterparts, the Australian regulators are concerned about the Money Laundering Money Laundering Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Read this Term and terror financing aspects of the proposed digital currency.

“If we don’t get answers to these questions from the US-based team we will then need to consider whether formal powers are exercised where available,” Elizabeth Hampton, deputy commissioner at OAIC, stated in an email to other regulators.

No friend in the southern hemisphere

Though publically mute, the Australians agencies were alarmed by Libra Libra Libra is a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, Inc., that will aim to serve as a global payment system and a stable financial infrastructure that people across the world can use. The projected release date of the libra cryptocurrency is currently slated for 2020, while the project is currently being managed by the Libra Association.Headquartered from Geneva, Switzerland, the Libra Association main purpose is founded on three pillars.This includes the provision of a framework Libra is a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, Inc., that will aim to serve as a global payment system and a stable financial infrastructure that people across the world can use. The projected release date of the libra cryptocurrency is currently slated for 2020, while the project is currently being managed by the Libra Association.Headquartered from Geneva, Switzerland, the Libra Association main purpose is founded on three pillars.This includes the provision of a framework Read this Term right after its launch. In July, a committee from the ASIC warned that “all regulated entities” as well as consumers and investors could be affected if Libra could not be effectively supervised.

In response to the regulators’ concerns, a Facebook spokesperson told the local newspaper: “As a member of the Libra association, we will continue to be a part of dialogue to ensure that this global financial infrastructure is governed in a way that is reflective of the people it serves.”

Meanwhile, in the US, Mark Zuckerburg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, recently addressed the questions of the US Congress regarding the company’s plans with Libra. However, most of his responses were unsatisfactory to the lawmakers.