Article: Westpac Probed by Regulator on Insider Trading Allegations

Article - Media, Publications

Westpac Probed by Regulator on Insider Trading Allegations

Nabila Ahmed, 05 May 2021

Australia’s securities regulator is probing Westpac Banking Corp. on allegations of insider trading, just months after the country’s second-biggest lender paid a record fine to settle breaches of anti-money laundering laws.

The allegations relate to Westpac’s role in executing a A$12 billion ($9.3 billion) interest-rate swap transaction with a consortium of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd. and a group of IFM entities in October 2016, according to a statement on Wednesday from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. Continue reading “Article: Westpac Probed by Regulator on Insider Trading Allegations”

Article: Westpac to pay record $1.3bn fine after money laundering and child exploitation investigation

Article - Media, Publications

Westpac to pay record $1.3bn fine after money laundering and child exploitation investigation

Ben Butler, 23 September 2020

Westpac has agreed to pay a record penalty of $1.3bn to settle legal action over money laundering and child exploitation allegations levelled against it by the financial intelligence agency, Austrac.

The $1.3bn figure is $400m more than the $900m the bank had previously set aside as an estimate of the penalty it would have to pay and comes after the bank said an additional 250 customers made transactions consistent with child exploitation – a dramatic increase on the 12 over which the regulator originally took action.

In a further concession to Austrac, Westpac has also agreed to additional contraventions of anti-money laundering and counter-terror finance laws, the company told the stock exchange on Thursday. Continue reading “Article: Westpac to pay record $1.3bn fine after money laundering and child exploitation investigation”

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