Commonwealth Bank agrees to US$530M fine over money laundering breaches

The Commonwealth Bank on Monday agreed to the largest civil penalty in Australian corporate history to settle claims it breached anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.

The AU$700 million (FJ$1096m) fine -- which is subject to court approval -- comes after mediation between the nation’s biggest lender and the country’s financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC.

It follows the bank being taken to court last August for “serious and systemic non-compliance” of antimoney laundering laws more than 53,000 times, with AUSTRAC filing 100 further claims in December. CBA was also accused of failing to adequately monitor suspected terrorist financiers.

“While not deliberate, we fully appreciate the seriousness of the mistakes we made,” said CBA chief executive Matt Comyn in a statement.

“Our agreement today is a clear acknowledgement of our failures and is an important step towards moving the bank forward. On behalf of Commonwealth Bank, I apologise to the community for letting them down.”

The bank, which in the fall-out has replaced senior leadership overseeing financial crimes and pumped millions of dollars into improving its systems, also agreed to pay AUSTRAC’s AU$2.5 million (FJ3.91m) legal fees. The scandal is only the latest issue to damage the reputation of Australian banks which have been under intense scrutiny amid allegations of dodgy financial advice.