- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Jaclyn Jaeger2020-04-15T19:56:00
Westpac has set aside AUS$900 million (U.S. $570 million) for a potential fine with Australian enforcement authorities related to a money laundering scandal and for allegations of facilitating child exploitation in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
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By balking at original allegations, Westpac opened itself to infinitely more harm, writes financial crime expert Martin Woods.
An internal report outlining compliance failures by Australia-based financial institution Westpac that led to 23 million breaches of the country’s AML/CTF laws concluded “a mix of technology and human error” were to blame.
Amid a money-laundering investigation and faced with allegations of facilitating child exploitation in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, Westpac has appointed a new head of financial crime compliance.
Jamaica and Türkiye made “significant progress” addressing deficiencies in their anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs, warranting their removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published its latest collection of Bank Secrecy Act data, including number and type of suspicious activity reports.
Despite repeated interventions, fines, and negative publicity, money laundering is rife in U.K. financial services firms, according to Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell.
