Australian bank to pay record fine in laundering case
Monday - June 4, 2018 9:38 am ,
Category : BUSINESS
Canberra June 4 (IANS) Australia s Commonwealth Bank on Monday said it will pay a A$700 million ($530 million) fine for breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing laws.
The scandal relates to 53 000 suspect transactions that the bank did not immediately report to authorities reports the BBC.
Last year Australia s financial intelligence agency accused the country s largest lender of "serious and systemic" law breaches.
If a court approves the fine it will be the largest civil penalty in Australian corporate history.
The bank said it would also cover A$2.5 million in legal fees accrued by investigators.
"While not deliberate we fully appreciate the seriousness of the mistakes we made " Chief Executive Matt Comyn said on Monday.
Australia s scandal-plagued financial sector is at the centre of a national inquiry into misconduct the BBC reported.
In December Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull established a royal commission inquiry to investigate the scale of wrongdoing.
--IANS ksk
The scandal relates to 53 000 suspect transactions that the bank did not immediately report to authorities reports the BBC.
Last year Australia s financial intelligence agency accused the country s largest lender of "serious and systemic" law breaches.
If a court approves the fine it will be the largest civil penalty in Australian corporate history.
The bank said it would also cover A$2.5 million in legal fees accrued by investigators.
"While not deliberate we fully appreciate the seriousness of the mistakes we made " Chief Executive Matt Comyn said on Monday.
Australia s scandal-plagued financial sector is at the centre of a national inquiry into misconduct the BBC reported.
In December Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull established a royal commission inquiry to investigate the scale of wrongdoing.
--IANS ksk
