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Australian Bank Accused of Millions of Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing
Breaches

Phil Mercer

   SYDNEY - Australia's second-biggest bank, Westpac, has been accused of
   23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counterterrorism
   financing laws.

   Westpac is likely to be hit with huge fines. The Australian banking
   giant is facing legal action from regulators who claim it flouted
   anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws.

   Investigators allege that Westpac allowed institutions from countries
   including Iraq, Lebanon, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo
   access into Australia's financial sector without proper checks.

   This, according to the watchdog, potentially allowed criminals and
   terrorists to transfer money into or out of Australia.

   The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, or AUSTRAC, the
   country's financial crime agency, has also alleged that Westpac failed
   to properly monitor thousands of transactions that could be linked to
   child exploitation in the Philippines. It also claimed the bank ignored
   warnings and for years enabled suspicious payments from convicted child
   sex offenders.

   "Westpac failed to carry out appropriate customer due diligence on
   high-high-rise transactions to the Philippines and Southeast Asia
   concerning known financial indicators relating to potential child
   exploitation risks," said Nicole Rose, AUSTRAC's chief executive.

   The U.S.-born boss of Westpac said the bank "should have done better"
   and promised to fix the problems.

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