Australia's ASIC imposes a $9.3 million fine on BPS Financial for misleading promotion of Qoin Wallet

According to Cointelegraph, the Federal Court of Australia has ruled that financial services company BPS Financial must pay a fine of 14 million AUD (approximately 9.3 million USD) for violations in promoting and operating the Qoin Wallet product. Of this amount, about 1.3 million USD is for operating financial services without a license, and 8 million USD is for making misleading and deceptive statements.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) accused BPS of issuing the product and providing financial advice without holding an Australian financial services license between January 2020 and mid-2023, in violation of the Corporations Act. The court found that senior management of the company was involved and that there were deficiencies in the compliance system, constituting "serious and illegal conduct."

In addition to the fine, BPS is also prohibited from operating financial services without a license for the next 10 years and must publish court-mandated announcements on the Qoin Wallet app and website, while also bearing most of ASIC's legal costs.