Crime and punishment: Why Westpac turned its back on the war on terror
5 years, 4 months ago

Crime and punishment: Why Westpac turned its back on the war on terror

ABC  

When all is said and done, the only thing of value any of us have is our reputation. For years, Westpac chief Brian Hartzer and his chairman Lindsay Maxsted have been handsomely rewarded for their stewardship of one of the country's biggest financial institutions. There are implications here for national and global security as both banks, for years, have left the door wide open for global terrorist financing, delivering easy access to the Australian banking system for criminal money laundering. In Westpac's case, 16 separate foreign banks that had a relationship with the Australian bank — in a deal known as correspondent banking — were delivered open access to our banking system with no oversight. The Commonwealth Bank two years ago was left reeling — after a series of scandals involving stealing from its own customers — when a police investigation found the bank may have been involved in money laundering for local criminal syndicates.

Global War Money Laundering Banking Money Bank Banks System Terror Laundering Somalia Westpac Brian Hartzer  terror  turned  system  banking  laundering  remittance  punishment  bank  banks  crime  westpac  money  war  westpacs  global

History of this topic

Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and St George called out over tellers' cash questions before customer gets revenge
1 year, 7 months ago

Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and St George called out over tellers' cash questions before customer gets revenge

Daily Mail  

A comedian has exposed Australia's Big Four banks by showing their tellers repeatedly asking him to explain why he needed the cash he was withdrawing. Jon-Bernard Kairouz, who achieved viral fame during Sydney's pandemic lockdown by successfully predicting the number of Covid cases in NSW each day, decided to play pranks on bank tellers at Commonwealth, Westpac, and St George. …

Westpac's record $1.3 billion AUSTRAC money laundering fine explained
4 years, 6 months ago

Westpac's record $1.3 billion AUSTRAC money laundering fine explained

ABC  

Westpac has agreed to pay the largest fine in Australian corporate history — a $1.3 billion civil penalty for more than 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering laws. According to the Federal Government's Department of Home Affairs, the five major requirements are for organisations to: Register with the regulator if they are captured by the laws Set up and maintain …

Westpac settles AUSTRAC money laundering case with $1.3 billion fine
4 years, 6 months ago

Westpac settles AUSTRAC money laundering case with $1.3 billion fine

ABC  

Westpac has reached a deal with financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC to settle more than 23 million alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws by paying a record $1.3 billion penalty. Key points: AUSTRAC says Westpac breached anti-money laundering rules more than 23 million times, involving transactions of more than $11 billion The $1.3 billion penalty is almost twice the previous largest …

FinCEN Files show banks are not serious enough about beating money laundering
4 years, 6 months ago

FinCEN Files show banks are not serious enough about beating money laundering

ABC  

The leaking of more than 2,100 US Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network suspicious transaction reports reveals what many people had already assumed: the banking sector is still not getting serious enough about fighting crime. Over the past two years members of the global banking industry — including Australia's big banks — have gone to great lengths to illustrate …

State Street bank hit with million-dollar money laundering fine
4 years, 6 months ago

State Street bank hit with million-dollar money laundering fine

ABC  

The Australian arm of a global bank is the latest financial institution to be fined for breaching anti-money laundering laws. Key points: State Street will pay a $1.24 million fine after admitting 99 breaches of its reporting requirements to AUSTRAC The fine is small compared with CBA's $700 million penalty for 54,000 breaches and Westpac's estimated $900 million penalty for …

Westpac defers dividend amid coronavirus-linked profit slump, AUSTRAC case looms large
4 years, 10 months ago

Westpac defers dividend amid coronavirus-linked profit slump, AUSTRAC case looms large

ABC  

Westpac joins ANZ in deferring its interim dividend as it braces for the financial impact of COVID-19, but mounting issues around money laundering and tax reporting may cost it almost as much. Key points: Westpac has set aside more than $2 billion to cover potential bad debts, mainly related to coronavirus The bank has uncovered tens of thousands more possible …

Westpac expects $900 million penalty for breaching money laundering laws
4 years, 11 months ago

Westpac expects $900 million penalty for breaching money laundering laws

ABC  

Westpac has revealed it will suffer a massive $1.4 billion hit to its first-half earnings. Key points: CBA holds the record for the biggest money laundering fine paid in Australia Westpac will beat that record if its penalty is $900m - $1b Its share price has plummeted by 38pc since late-February In a statement, Australia's second-largest bank said the bulk …

Westpac is now the main banking horror story and its financial pain is yet to come
5 years, 4 months ago

Westpac is now the main banking horror story and its financial pain is yet to come

ABC  

The cliche is, if you're in a hole, don't dig deeper. The charade finally ended on Tuesday, when in an announcement to the ASX, Westpac said that its chief executive Brian Hartzer had resigned and its chairman Lindsay Maxsted, who has been on the Westpac board since 2008 and chairman since 2011, would "bring forward" his retirement to early next …

Westpac laundering scandal could trigger investor revolt, CEO sacking
5 years, 4 months ago

Westpac laundering scandal could trigger investor revolt, CEO sacking

ABC  

SABRA LANE: As Westpac's money laundering scandal threatens the future of chief executive Brian Hartzer, investors are sharpening their knives for the bank's annual general meeting next month. PETER RYAN: Well, Sabra, Westpac's board is meeting today for an update, most likely as a teleconference, and clearly the money laundering scandal has rocketed to the top of the agenda. There's …

Can Westpac's Brian Hartzer survive the human consequences of money laundering?
5 years, 4 months ago

Can Westpac's Brian Hartzer survive the human consequences of money laundering?

ABC  

Can Westpac boss Brian Hartzer really keep his job? Given the only comparable precedent was CBA's epic "Intelligent Deposit Machine" money-laundering fail — which cost it a $700 million settlement on what, by this standard, now seems a paltry 53,700 breaches — it seems unimaginable Westpac could get away with settling for less, and the penalty may be a whole …

Australia’s Westpac accused of 23 million financial breaches
5 years, 4 months ago

Australia’s Westpac accused of 23 million financial breaches

Al Jazeera  

Potential fines against Westpac could exceed record penalty given to Commonwealth Bank for similar breaches of rules. Australia‘s Westpac Banking Corp was accused on Wednesday of 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering rules, with a regulator saying the financial giant enabled payments from “high risk” countries and convicted child sex offenders. The oversight failure at Australia’s second-largest bank led to …

Westpac misconduct costs head toward $2 billion as it faces heavy AUSTRAC penalties over foreign transactions
5 years, 5 months ago

Westpac misconduct costs head toward $2 billion as it faces heavy AUSTRAC penalties over foreign transactions

ABC  

The cost of Westpac's misconduct and shabby treatment of customers is heading towards $2 billion after the bank was forced to make another large provision for remediation costs ahead of its 2019 full year profit. Key points: Westpac has added another post-tax $341 million in misconduct costs to a bill that has now hit $1.9b since 2017 Analysts say the …

Westpac comes out ahead on dodgy loans despite ASIC's $35 million fine
6 years, 6 months ago

Westpac comes out ahead on dodgy loans despite ASIC's $35 million fine

ABC  

It's a lot of money, $35 million. People in the know have told the ABC that the big banks make something like an 80-basis-point clear profit of their home loans every year — that's 0.8 percentage points. But Westpac says 5,400 of the loans are still active — these mortgages would be generating something in the order of $13 million …

Malcolm Turnbull rebukes banks for customer mistreatment during Westpac lunch speech
8 years, 11 months ago

Malcolm Turnbull rebukes banks for customer mistreatment during Westpac lunch speech

ABC  

Malcolm Turnbull has publicly reprimanded the big banks over customer mistreatment, but dodged questions about the possibility of calling a royal commission into the sector. Key points: Turnbull says some banks have 'taken advantage of fellow Australians' Comments come as Westpac, ANZ come under investigation for alleged rate-rigging Banks insist they've done nothing wrong During a speech at a Westpac …

Westpac to buy UK bank Lloyds' Australian assets
11 years, 5 months ago

Westpac to buy UK bank Lloyds' Australian assets

ABC  

Westpac has announced a deal to buy some of the Australian assets of Lloyds Banking Group for $1.45 billion as the UK bank starts to exit Australia. The agreement will see Westpac take over the motor and equipment finance business Capital Finance Australia Ltd and the corporate lending portfolio BOS International Australia Ltd. Chief executive Gail Kelly says the deal …

Discover Related