the crackdown on crypto deepens in the us. plus, a senate hearing focusing on a scandal involving one of the world's "big four" audit firms is set to kick off in australia. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm mariko oi. another day and another crackdown on crypto by us regulators. this time it's coinbase, the largest crypto trading platform in america. the securities and exchange commission or sec is suing coinbase for allegedly operating as an exchange without registering as one. just yesterday, the sec filed 13 charges against its

bigger rival, binance, and its billionaire creator. samira hussain has more from new york. in these latest charges, the sec said coinbase acted as a broker exchange and clearing agency for broker exchange and clearing auen y ., , , ., ., agency for investments that are sub'ect to agency for investments that are subject to sec _ agency for investments that are subject to sec rules. _ agency for investments that are subject to sec rules. but - agency for investments that are subject to sec rules. but they i subject to sec rules. but they did so without properly registering, and that, they said, allows the firm to escape oversight, including guards against conflicts of interest. the charges against coinbase were not a surprise, as a publicly traded companies and disclosed in march that the sec had notified it that these charges may be coming. in response, coinbase said liberals are not clear. they testified on capitol hill that the chief legal officer said it try to get new rules in place —— said the rules were not clear. but got new response —— no response from the sec. we have had over _ no response from the sec. we have had over 30 engagements with the — have had over 30 engagements with the sec to try to work

towards _ with the sec to try to work towards a sensible framework for regulation. we received no response _ for regulation. we received no response after our presentations as part of those discussions. gn presentations as part of those discussions.— presentations as part of those discussions. on the one hand, coinbase _ discussions. on the one hand, coinbase is — discussions. on the one hand, coinbase is basically _ discussions. on the one hand, coinbase is basically saying i discussions. on the one hand, | coinbase is basically saying we want to abide by the rules, but the ones is written don't work for these new financial instruments like cryptocurrency. on the other hand, the regulator is saying rules are rules and you are running afoul of them. it seems the us is making good on its promise to aggressively enforce rules to oversee the crypto industry. rules to oversee the crypto industry-— rules to oversee the crypto indust . . . . industry. that was a samira hussain reporting _ industry. that was a samira hussain reporting there. . industry. that was a samira | hussain reporting there. the sec also asked the federal court to freeze the us assets crypto exchange binance. it comes a day after they sued the world's biggest crypto exchange

for allegedly operating a web of deception. the re—election campaign of us presidentjoe biden has said a decision by youtube to stop policing false claims about fraud in prior elections is "reckless" and could lead to potential violence. a spokesperson for the campaign said the move by the alphabet—owned video platform will "invite further democratic decay." on friday, youtube said it would stop removing content that might have spread false claims related to previous races. from a reuters poll, economists are forecasting a slight expansion. if that's true, it'll be one of its slowest growth in almost two years. just yesterday, the central bank raised the cost of borrowing by another 25 basis points — which is the 12th straight rate hike. governor philip lowe said inflation has peaked, but at 7%, the level

is still too high. peter mcguire joins us from sydney. he told me he's expecting the growth. it he told me he's expecting the urowth. , , ., growth. it will be tepid growth and we exeect _ growth. it will be tepid growth and we expect around - growth. it will be tepid growth and we expect around zero - growth. it will be tepid growth l and we expect around zero point to respect —— o.2%. we build on yesterday's rate rise on 25 basis points of the highest since april 2012.— since april 2012. also inflation _ since april 2012. also inflation coming - since april 2012. also inflation coming in i since april 2012. also i inflation coming in quite since april 2012. also - inflation coming in quite high as a surprise, so is it inevitable that, as you mentioned, the growth could be slowing down?— mentioned, the growth could be slowing down? absolutely, we've had unemployment _ slowing down? absolutely, we've had unemployment go _ slowing down? absolutely, we've had unemployment go from - slowing down? absolutely, we've had unemployment go from 3.5 l had unemployment go from 3.5 down to 3.7% in april. we expect 0.2 and the overall theme will be weakness. we expected to be a bit of a slowdown. the subsequent quarter as well.— quarter as well. and other ma'or quarter as well. and other major challenge _ quarter as well. and other major challenge for - quarter as well. and other major challenge for the i quarter as well. and other - major challenge for the economy

is somewhat slower than expected recovery of china. have you seen much evidence of that impacting australia? yes. that impacting australia? yes, we have, that impacting australia? yes, we have. and _ that impacting australia? yes, we have, and there's - that impacting australia? yes, we have, and there's no - that impacting australia? yes we have, and there's no doubt we have, and there's no doubt we are driven by exports and reliance on china as the largest trading partner. secondly, china came out of the locks quite quickly after the end of february, and we thought they would move quite quickly, moving into this corridor. they have since slowed quite considerately and china's appetite is waning and impacting australia. governor phili - impacting australia. governor philip lowe — impacting australia. governor philip lowe said _ impacting australia. governor philip lowe said as _ impacting australia. governor philip lowe said as pete, - impacting australia. governor philip lowe said as pete, do | philip lowe said as pete, do you agree?— philip lowe said as pete, do ou auree? , ., ~ you agree? maybe not. we were at 3.696, you agree? maybe not. we were at 1696. are — you agree? maybe not. we were at 3.6%, are expecting - you agree? maybe not. we were at 3.696, are expecting that... i at 3.6%, are expecting that... maybe he knows he's probably got a better set than everyone else, but i think it's possibly trending higher, and that's a difficult task for any central bankers. ~ . , difficult task for any central bankers. a , , , . ~ bankers. peter mcguire speaking

to me earlier. _ let's stay with australia, because later this morningm because later this morning, a senate hearing has been scheduled in canberra, and it involves one of the world's "big four" audit and advisory firms — price waterhouse coopers. that's because a former partner who had been consulting with the federal government on new tax laws shared a confidential draught with colleagues in a bid to drum up business around the world. the firm's acting chief executive has publicly apologised and has named over 60 staffers involved. there are claims that not everyone may have known about the confidentiality breach. our reporter phil mercer is monitoring the story. this is a leak of confidential information from the government that was used by pwc to help clients minimise tax and make the company an awful lot of money in fees. now, pwc has moved to limit the damage. the

chief executive has been replaced, nine senior partners have told to go on leave. also, the e—mails of those recipients of those e—mails containing that confidential information has also been passed on to mps as well. in the next couple of hours in canberra, a senate committee — the upper house of the australian parliament — will continue its inquiry into consulting services in this particular scandal in particular, and the australian treasurerjim charmers said this confidentiality breach was an appalling breach of trust. we know there's an investigation by the australian federal police, so this is a significant story in australia's financial circles. quite a bit of reputational damage there, but what could actually happen next to pwc

after this?— after this? the acting chief executive _ after this? the acting chief executive is _ after this? the acting chief executive is kristin - after this? the acting chief l executive is kristin stubbins, who says that she and the company will respect the investigation and legal processes, so there are multiple reviews and investigations into this scandal. the australian federal police, as we've indicated, and the australian parliament is investigating pwc, too. there is an internal inquiry and ongoing as well, and the australian media have said that this is normal —— enormous global company in australia is tracked and a reputational nightmare of its own making. lawmakers have accused pwc of a cover—up and not being open and honest with the australian people. the australian senate is due to hand down, mariko, it's reports in september, so

he could get and comfortable for the executives at this company. for the executives at this company-— for the executives at this com an . ~ . ,., india's internet economy is expected to grow six times and estimated to be worth $1 trillion by 2030. the details have been published in a joint report carried out by google, temasek and bain and company. the bbc�*s arunoday mukharji has more from new delhi. according to the report, it was worth $155 billion, to 175 billion. based on these figures, india is on track to help that $1 trillion mark in the next seven years. this growth is estimated to be triggered mainly by the econ sector. ~ , , sector. within this, it will be the business _ sector. within this, it will be the business to _ sector. within this, it will be the business to customer . the business to customer segment which will lead the way. in the report says growth will be dragon by software service providers and idt players. a lot of the

exhilaration in the digital world has happened during the covid years, which saw an increasing shift from off—line to online. the report also recognised the massive market in india, putting the total number of internet users to 700 million, including 350 million digital payment users and 220 million online shoppers. over the last few years, india has seen a huge rise in the number of startups. based on the report, india ranks third in the world in terms of the sheer number of units. businesses that have recognised the company have looked to increase their digital footprints to remain competitive. and that's it for this edition of asia business report. i'll be back with newsday at the top of the hour. do join us if you can. thanks for watching.

bbc news — bringing you different stories| from across the uk. seren has had a tic since she was a child, but wasn't officially diagnosed with tourette's syndrome until a few years ago. having to come to terms with it being permanent was difficult, but it's changed her life. my mental health was so much better, like, i was actually enjoying things. i think trying to hide itjust takes all of the enjoyment out of everything and just meant that i wasn't really living, i was just sort of surviving. tourette's is a neurological condition, which means it's in the brain and it makes us make involuntary movements and sounds. i started up my social media channels, and now i get so many messages from people saying that i've helped them in lots of different ways. it's just a massive confidence boost. seren is now part of a campaign by the tourette's action charity to dispel myths over the condition. to raise money for the charity, seren is running 5k every day throughout tourette's awareness

month. as she's also lost her sight, she's helped on the runs by guide runner kim. i spend an hour with seren and ijust think she'sjust amazing. tourette's awareness month runs until the middle ofjune, with seren being part of the team to end the myths and stereotypes around the condition that affects around 300,000 people throughout the uk. for more stories . from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. hey, i'm zof with the catch up. tonight — prince harry gives evidence in court, stis on the rise and a new tech surprise. it's clear to see disposable vapes are becoming increasingly popular amongst young people, but children's doctors are calling for a complete ban on them, as they may damage young people's lungs. an anti—smoking campaign group says a ban would make it harder for some adults to give up

smoking, but a parent to spoke to us about her concerns. there are a lot of shops just quite willing to give them out without any idea at all, and they are addictive. they are very addictive. my son wanted to stop at one point, butjust couldn't, found it really hard, and he's only 1a. some other stories now. prince harry has been answering questions in court because he believes journalists at the daily mirror hacked his phone to uncover stories, including whilst he was at school. the mirror's lawyer says legitimate sources were behind many of the stories. and england is seeing record high levels of stis, mainly affecting 15— 24—year—olds. cases of gonorrhoea have doubled since last year. people are being urged to practise safe sex and get tested if they may be at risk. next up, lewis capaldi has cancelled his upcoming gigs until glastonbury later this month to rest and recover,

as he's been struggling mentally and physically. time now to leave you with a few seconds of a new vr headset. developed in belfast, it's helping parents of visually impaired children to see the world through their eyes. and you're all caught up now. have a good night.