ASIC wins $9.3M penalty against BPS Financial over misleading Qoin Wallet

Australia's Federal Court ordered BPS Financial to pay $1.3 million for unlicensed conduct and $8 million for misleading and deceptive representations.

Australia’s financial watchdog secured a court victory against financial services company BPS Financial Pty Ltd (BPS), with the Federal Court ordering the company to pay 14 million Australian dollars ($9.3 million) in penalties over the promotion and operation of its Qoin Wallet product.

The ruling follows years of legal action brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which accused BPS of running an unlicensed financial services business while making misleading claims about its crypto-linked payment product.

In a Tuesday news release, the regulator said BPS promoted the Qoin Wallet as a non-cash payment facility tied to its Qoin digital token. However, the court found that between January 2020 and mid-2023, the company issued the product and provided financial advice without holding an Australian Financial Services Licence, breaching the Corporations Act.

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