18th December 2017

‘Nice’ Australian was an ‘economic agent’ for North Korea

BBC Further details have emerged about the Australian man accused of being an economic agent for North Korea. Chan Han Choi, 59 was arrested in Sydney by Australian police and charged with brokering sales and discussing the supply of weapons of mass destruction. Police allege he broke UN and domestic… Read More

14th December 2017

Commonwealth Bank hit with 100 new money laundering/TF charges

Australia’s financial regulator AUSTRAC has expanded its civil penalty case against Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), adding 100 more alleged contraventions to its current proceedings. The ‘very serious’ new charges include that CBA failed to properly report 54 suspicious matters pertaining to accounts and individuals that were the subject of… Read More

13th December 2017

Australian bank CBA admits to multiple money laundering failings

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has admitted to a number of compliance failings brought against it by regulator Austrac, but denied it was guilty of all the accusations. CBA landed in trouble after it emerged criminals and terror financiers had used its intelligent deposit machines (IDMs) to funnel illicit… Read More

8th December 2017

Australia establishes deferred prosecution agreements

KYC360 News Australia has established its deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) scheme which will enable prosecutors and firms suspected of wrong doing to negotiate settlements instead of going through the trial process, said the Ministry of Justice. Under a DPA, firms would have to abide by certain conditions, such as payment… Read More

5th December 2017

Reporting corruption could end our careers, say some Australian police

One in five Victoria police say reporting corruption could cost their job By Calla Wahlquist, Guardian One in five Victoria police employees say they would not report corruption even if they witnessed it and another one in five said they feared losing their job if they reported corruption, according to… Read More

23rd November 2017

Australia, Philippines to lead new regional counter-terror funding group

KYC360 News Australian regulator Austrac and the Philippines Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) are to co-lead a new counter terrorism funding (CFT) regional group. The South East Asia Counter Terrorism Financing Working Group (SEA CTFWG) aims to focus on preventing terrorists from gaining access to banks and receiving funds… Read More

20th November 2017

Australia: Bank enforces deposit limits following money laundering scandal

KYC360 News The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is to introduce caps on the amount customers can deposit as part of new plans to fulfill its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorism financing obligations. The bank has come under pressure to reform its compliance structures after it was found criminals and… Read More

20th November 2017

Australia: Rebel lawmakers vow to force inquiry into banks

20 November 2017 By Tom Westbrook, REUTERS Rebel government lawmakers in Australia vowed on Monday to force a powerful inquiry into the country’s scandal-hit banking sector, further turmoil for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as he languishes in the polls amid a citizenship crisis. The threatened move is a major… Read More

15th November 2017

Banking: Australia’s NAB finds weaknesses in money laundering controls

By Paulina Duran, REUTERS National Australia Bank has found weaknesses in systems that monitor customers as part of a programme to comply with money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws, and flagged further problems could be discovered. The revelation, buried in a note to NAB’s 162-page annual report on Tuesday, comes as… Read More

27th October 2017

Australia citizenship ‘crisis’: deputy PM out, government loses majority

GUARDIAN The Australian deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, and four senators have been ruled ineligible to sit in parliament by the high court, with only the National party’s Matt Canavan and NXT’s Nick Xenophon surviving a challenge that has hung over seven parliamentarians since their dual citizenship was discovered in… Read More