BPS Financial fined $14M over Qoin Wallet violations

BPS Financial was fined 14M AUD for unlicensed and misleading promotion of Qoin Wallet, and is banned from offering financial services without a license for ten years.

An Australian Federal Court has fined BPS Financial 14 million AUD for breaches related to its Qoin Wallet crypto product. The penalties stem from unlicensed financial services and misleading or deceptive statements, with fines ranging from 1.3 to 2 million AUD for operating without a license, and 8 to 12 million AUD for misleading conduct. The court found BPS Financial promoted and provided financial advice on Qoin Wallet without the required Australian Financial Services Licence from January 2020 to mid-2023, violating the Corporations Act. The company also made false claims about Qoin Wallet’s features, regulatory status, and exchangeability. Senior management was cited for poor compliance oversight. BPS Financial is now banned from offering financial services without a license for ten years, must publish court-ordered notices, and cover most of ASIC’s legal costs. This case marks a significant move in Australian crypto regulation enforcement.