westpac money laundering

May

Australia gets tougher on financial crime

Australian regulators are stepping up the fight against financial crime after issuing a staggering US$921.59 million in fines in 2020. Disciplinary action against Westpac for serious breaches of Australia’s AML/CFT act accounted for US$920.7 million of that total.In the Asia-Pacific region, only Malaysia issued more fines than Australia in 2020,…

Oct

Asia Banking Research

Australia’s big banks struggle with money-laundering woes

Australia is struggling to win its fight against financial crime in part because its biggest banks cannot effectively contain money laundering. The bank themselves are rarely willing participants in illicit activity. Rather, ineffective money-laundering controls foment compliance weaknesses that criminals exploit.

Dec

Asia Banking Research

Do Australian banks need to strengthen AML controls?

Australia is not considered a country at high risk for money laundering. When the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grades Australia on different AML criteria, it tends to award a “compliant” or “largely compliant” grade. Only 14 of 40 criteria were graded as “non-compliant” or “partially compliant” during FATF’s most…

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westpac money laundering