Westpac settles money laundering case for $1.3 billion

Westpac has reached a deal with financial crimes regulator to settle more than 23 million alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws by paying a record $1.3 billion penalty.

The penalty is the biggest in Australian corporate history, and is almost double the previous record $700 million fine paid by the Commonwealth Bank for almost 54,000 money laundering breaches, revealed by the ABC in 2017.

In a statement, Westpac’s chief executive Peter King once again apologised for the contraventions.

“We are committed to fixing the issues to ensure that these mistakes do not happen again. This has been my number one priority. We have also closed down relevant products and reported all relevant historical transactions.”

The settlement with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) comes after intense legal negotiations with the financial crime agency in recent weeks.

Westpac had earlier set aside $900 million for a penalty after flagging that it intended to accept most of the charges levelled by AUSTRAC.

The scandal, which erupted in late 2019, forced the resignation of then Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer and the retirement of chairman Lindsay Maxsted, along with other board and executive changes.