On May 10, 2024, the Australian Sanctions Office (ASO), in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, issued an advisory to alert Digital Currency Exchanges (DCE) of their obligations to comply with Australian sanctions laws.

The ASO offers these key indicators to prevent sanctions breaches:

• • Implement due diligence measures to manage the risk of breaching financial sanctions.
• • Screen all parties involved in transactions against the Consolidated List.
• • Evaluate transactions to determine if they involve designated persons or entities.
• • Freeze assets if you become aware they belong to a designated person or entity.
• • Deploy risk mitigation strategies such as pre-transaction and post-transaction screening.
• • Be cautious of high-risk wallets associated with designated entities or cybercriminal activities.
• • Consider IP-based location log-in restrictions for transactions involving high-risk jurisdictions.
• • Apply enhanced due diligence for transactions involving specific high-risk jurisdictions like DPRK, Iran, Myanmar, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.