Australia’s Commonwealth Bank accused of massive moneylaundering breaches

SYDNEY: The Australian government yesterday accused the country’s biggest mortgage lender, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, of widespread breaches of moneylaundering and counter-terrorism financing rules.

Financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC said it had initiated civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against CommBank for “serious and systemic non-compliance”, in the biggest case of its kind in Australia and the first against a major bank.

“The effect of CommBank’s conduct in this matter has exposed the Australian community to serious and ongoing financial crime,” AUSTRAC said in a court filing.

Commonwealth Bank said in a statement it was reviewing the allegations and would respond “in due course”.

Australia’s biggest mortgage lender failed to report suspicious matters “either on time or at all involving transactions totalling over A$77 million (US$61 million)”, AUSTRAC said. The agency alleged 53,700 contraventions of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing Act, particularly with regards to so-called intelligent deposit machines or IDMs.

The previous biggest such case came against Australia’s top bookmaker Tabcorp Holdings, earlier this year, with only 108 alleged breaches. Tabcorp paid A$45 million in fines, the biggest civil penalty in Australian corporate history. — Reuters

A man uses a Commonwealth Bank ATM in Sydney. Australia’s biggest bank was on August 3 taken to court by the country’s financial intelligence agency, accused of “serious and systemic non-compliance” of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism...