8chan/8kun QResearch Posts (5)
#9582463 at 2020-06-12 03:58:34 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #12264: Antifa's Peaceful Block Party Edition
Westpac could face more allegations of breaches as AUSTRAC digs deeper
The financial crimes watchdog will conduct a deeper probe into Westpac over its failure to properly vet international transactions potentially linked to child exploitation that could increase by over 20 times the number of alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws the bank faces.
The country's second largest bank was thrown into turmoil last November when the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) accused it of breaching anti-money laundering laws over 23 million times, including a failure to properly vet payments potentially linked to paedophilia.
The lawsuit led to the resignation of chief executive Brian Hartzer and the early retirement of veteran chairman Lindsay Maxsted. Furious shareholders also voted for a second strike against the bank's executive pay report at its AGM.
In the wake of the scandal, the bank reviewed its payments monitoring processes and updated its technology to betterdetect evidence of payments potentially linked to paedophilia. This resulted in the discovery of an additional 272 customers with payment transaction patterns that were indicative of child exploitation and Westpac self-reported these to AUSTRAC in December.
The regulator informed Westpac it will further probe these transactions and may broaden its lawsuit to include additional anti-money laundering breaches if any are found.
Westpac has indicated it will not defend a substantial majority of the initial breaches alleged by AUSTRAC and has set aside $900 million to cover an expected penalty. It is unclear if this provision will now need to be increased as the bank braces to receive the largest fine in Australian corporate history.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-could-face-more-allegations-of-breaches-as-austrac-digs-deeper-20200612-p551z7.html
#7831469 at 2020-01-16 19:30:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #10024: Filed The Report. The Bread Number Request Made Edition
Westpac linked to international paedophilia case after Australian man charged
Westpac has been linked to an international paedophilia case following the arrest of a notorious Australian sex offender who is suspected of using the bank's transfer system to pay for live-streamed child abuse videos in south-east Asia.
It is the first instance where an attempt to procure abuse of a child has been tied to Westpac's failure to heed warnings since 2016 from money laundering watchdog AUSTRAC that lax standards for its LitePay and other money transfer systems could be used to facilitate the international child sex trade.
The Victorian man allegedly attempted to arrange for a child to be exploited in a south-east Asian country recently. It is not known whether the alleged abuse went ahead.
The criminal charges against the man come after Westpac had been privately suggesting to the market since the scandal broke in late November that there was no evidence any act of child exploitation had occurred despite more than 3000 suspicious payments being identified.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been arrested and charged by the Australian Federal Police with soliciting child abuse material and possessing child abuse material.
Police are still examining thousands of the man's private social media messages.
The AFP declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.
Legal restrictions prevent the publication of details of the case, except that the man allegedly used Westpac systems to send tens of thousands of dollars to a south-east Asian country in more than 100 transactions since late 2018 and recently attempted to solicit live-streamed child sex abuse.
The man has denied any wrongdoing.
The registered sex offender had already served a substantial jail term for ordering live-streamed child sex abuse from contacts in a south-east Asian country.
A Westpac spokesman said the bank was unable to provide comment on specific matters while proceedings are before the court.
"We have made a number of changes to our transaction monitoring to lift our standards and ensure our financial crime processes meet our obligations," he said. "Westpac is working co-operatively to resolve this matter with AUSTRAC."
The revelation will be a further blow to the embattled institution, which has already lost its chief executive Brian Hartzer, experienced massive share price drops and suffered an intense backlash from the public, politicians and shareholders.
Westpac announced on Thursday that it had appointed Colin Carter, president of the Geelong Football Club, as the third member of an advisory panel reviewing the bank board's risk, governance and accountability.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-linked-to-international-paedophilia-case-after-australian-man-charged-20200116-p53s61.html
#7373340 at 2019-11-26 01:57:30 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9430: Who controls the media? Anons know! Edition
Australia's Westpac loses top two exes in money-laundering scandal
Bank accused of enabling 23m illegal payments as pressure on sector builds.
Australia's Westpac Banking Corp said on Tuesday its CEO will step down and its chairman will bring forward his retirement as a money-laundering scandal rocks the country's second-largest retail bank.
The departures make Westpac the third of Australia's four major banks to lose one or both of its top executives following scandals in a year-and-a-half, underscoring the intense scrutiny on the country's financial sector.
It also demonstrates the power of political and investor pressure on the sector. Since the country's financial crime regulator accused Westpac of enabling 23 million payments in breach of anti-money laundering laws, including between known child exploiters, the prime minister has led calls for the bank's board to weigh the CEO's future.
Westpac's shares edged up 1.2% in early trade on Tuesday, having slumped 8% over the previous four trading days since the regulator announced its lawsuit, wiping A$7.5 billion off the bank's market capitalisation.
"We sought feedback from all our stakeholders including shareholders and having done so it became clear that Board and management changes were in the best interest of the Bank," Westpac Chairman Lindsay Maxsted said in a statement before the start of trading on Tuesday.
Maxsted confirmed he will bring forward his retirement to the first half of 2020.
For chief executive Brian Hartzer, the departure appears to be an abrupt change of course given that the previous day he cancelled end-of-year parties but assured staff "this is not a major issue", according to The Australian newspaper.
In interviews with local media at the weekend, Maxsted had said firing Hartzer during the crisis would be destabilising for the bank.
Hartzer has been with Westpac for more than seven years, taking over as CEO and managing director in 2015.
Chief Financial Officer Peter King, who announced his retirement in September, will now take over as acting CEO of Australia's oldest bank, effective Dec. 2. The bank has an annual general meeting scheduled for Dec. 12.
"I think it's welcome, I think it's appropriate," Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sky News, minutes after the Westpac announcement. "The prime minister was absolutely clear when these revelations came out that the board had to reflect on the leadership."
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed the departure, which he said "shows that people need to be accountable for the behaviour of companies under their leadership (and) clearly there has been a failure of leadership here".
A Westpac spokesman was not immediately available for a comment on Tuesday.
Hartzer's resignation is the latest in a long line of executive departures from the financial sector, which has been under heavy scrutiny since a bruising public inquiry found rampant profiteering in the industry.
Larger rival Commonwealth Bank of Australia was accused of similar breaches by AUSTRAC in 2017, resulting in a record A$700 million penalty and prompting the bank to bring forward its CEO Ian Narev's retirement.
Financial planner AMP Ltd lost its CEO, chair and several board members during the Royal Commission inquiry over accusations of doctoring a supposedly independent report to a regulator, while wealth manager IOOF Holdings lost its CEO and chair over accusations in the inquiry of improperly using retiree money to prop up investment losses.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Australia-s-Westpac-loses-top-two-exes-in-money-laundering-scandal
#7371941 at 2019-11-25 21:29:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9428: projectdcomms less than 10 Edition
Westpac chief Brian Hartzer to step down in wake of scandal
Westpac has announced chief executive Brian Hartzer will step down in the wake of the AUSTRAC scandal enveloping the bank.
Westpac said Peter King, currently chief financial officer, will act as CEO as the board seeks a long term replacement. Mr Hartzer's exit comes after days of mounting pressure from investors for accountability over a money laundering compliance scandal at the country's oldest bank.
Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted also announced he will bring forward his retirement as chairman to the first half of 2020, while long-standing director Ewen Crouch will not seek re-election at the upcoming Westpac AGM. Mr Maxsted has been the bank's chairman since 2011.
The bank's announcement did not say who would be its next chairman. It comes two days after Mr Maxsted gave Mr Hartzer his strong backing, with the caveat that the CEO would leave if it was destabilising for him to remain in the top job.
"The Board accepts the gravity of the issues raised by AUSTRAC," Mr Maxsted said in a statement.
"As was appropriate, we sought feedback from all stakeholders including shareholders and having done so it became clear that Board and management changes were in the best interest of the Bank."
The bank was thrown into crisis last week by a regulatory lawsuit that says it breached anti-money laundering laws 23 million times, including failing to adequately vet thousands of payments potentially linked to child exploitation.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Monday took the unusual step of publicly confirming it had started looking into possible breaches of laws it administers - most likely a reference to the Corporations Act.
Confirmation of the ASIC investigation came a day after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said it too was investigating the bank.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-chief-Brian-Hartzer-to-step-down-20191126-p53e2l.html
#7368730 at 2019-11-25 05:57:32 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9424: Learn your Q trip!Fuckery is Fun NS!Edition
Westpac woes widen as ASIC probe confirmed
Westpac faces an ASIC probe, while up to $8.06 billion has been wiped from its market capitalisation since the bank was ensnared in a money laundering scandal.
Westpac faces a fresh investigation into its alleged money laundering and child exploitation scandal as the lender scrambles to salvage its reputation and stem a share price plunge that has now stretched into a fourth session.
Westpac has lost as much as $8.06 billion from is market capitalisation since financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC announced last week it was taking the bank to court over an alleged 23 million breaches of money laundering laws.
The alleged breaches, which included claims the bank facilitated payments linked with child trafficking and sex offences, prompted the nation's second largest lender to slash executive bonuses and shut down its international transfer platform LitePay as its management team faces increasing pressure.
And the heat was turned up another notch on Monday when the corporate watchdog ASIC confirmed it too would be examining the bank for potential legal breaches, believed to relate to the Corporations Act and whether directors breached their duties.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will also be investigating the bank, while chairman Lindsay Maxsted is set to front key investors this week in a series of meetings that could decide his future, and that of chief executive Brian Hartzer.
Confirmation of ASIC's investigation comes after Westpac released a statement on Sunday outlining its response plan to AUSTRAC's legal action, with Mr Maxsted saying the bank was "determined to urgently fix (the) issues".
These new commitments - which include closing LitePay, lifting standards through priority screening, and investing in initiatives to reduce the human impact of financial crime - will incur an extra $80 million pre-tax expense in FY20.
"We accept that we have fallen short of both our own and regulators' standards and are determined to get all the facts and assess accountability," Mr Maxsted said in a statement.
"In the interim, the board has determined that either all or part of the grant of the 2019 Short Term Variable Reward will be withheld for the full Executive team and several members of the general management team subject to the assessment of accountability."
AUSTRAC's claims hammered Westpac's share price for three straight trading sessions at the end of the week - wiping as much as $6.78 billion from the bank's value by Friday's close.
Westpac shares hit a fresh 10-month low of $24.26 in early trade, representing $8.06 billion hit to its value since Tuesday's close.
Shares in the bank recovered somewhat after 15 minutes but were still 1.41 per cent lower at $24.42 by 1315 AEST, against a 0.38 per cent climb for the broader ASX/200.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/breaking-news/westpac-to-cut-executives-bonuses/news-story/5c23648769c79d27c14d245321d821de
8chan/8kun QResearch AUSTRALIA Posts (12)
#19474326 at 2023-09-01 22:30:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition
>>19404497
How AUSTRAC is saving kids from sexual abuse
The financial enforcer is ensuring banks report the kind of transactions that give away the activities of predators.
Madonna King - Sep 1, 2023
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In 2020, a trickle that became a stream of tiny financial transactions to fund child sexual abuse, eventually became a flood that destroyed some of Australia's biggest business reputations. And it had the unintended, but enduringly good, impact of adding a valuable weapon to the armoury for the fight against child exploitation.
At the heart of the flood was the detective work of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the federal government agency charged with monitoring the legality of money flowing in and out of the country.
Its main target was Westpac. AUSTRAC swamped Westpac's reputation with a civil court action, alleging negligence in discerning and reporting large-scale money laundering between 2012 and 2019. It accused the bank of breaching anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws on more than 23 million occasions, involving $11 billion in transactions. Westpac was duly ordered by the court to pay the highest civil penalty in Australian history: $1.3 billion.
Some of Westpac's failings involved suspicious transactions related to child exploitation in the Philippines, including two associated with child sex offenders. While AUSTRAC's allegations covered much broader ground than child exploitation, it was this revelation that tore at the heart of the bank's integrity, and fuelled the public's displeasure.
Westpac, Australia's oldest bank, was shaken. Its share price was ravaged, and its leadership team became the target of angry investors and an indignant public - chief executive Brian Hartzer, along with other executives, resigned.
The accusations centred on claims that payments by hundreds of customers showed telltale connections to child abuse not just in the Philippines but other countries, too - the bank later confirmed this was so. Many of the amounts, in isolation, were tiny, but they were frequent and they met the red flags AUSTRAC had given all financial institutions at the start of the 2010s, when it asked them to be alert to the misuse of their services by child sex abusers. But Westpac took until 2018 to pay attention.
The action by AUSTRAC not only put the spotlight on Westpac but also on the business side of child sexual exploitation, which, thanks to the ubiquity of the internet and the ever-present desire to profit from it, was burgeoning.
A shamed Westpac, keen to retrieve its reputation, responded by both reforming its own business practices and by funding an initiative designed to stop the future channelling of money from Australian viewers of sexual violence to their evil partners in crime in other countries.
The scale of the business that sits behind child sexual exploitation is difficult to ascertain, but the money can be traced back to two things.
One is the willingness of certain people to pay to see exploitative material, principally via pay-per-view or subscription sites.
The other is the rising trend of sexploitation. The motivation by offenders is focused almost exclusively on forcing children to perform sex acts on camera. The target, who is increasingly likely to be a male in his late teens, is subsequently blackmailed to pay for the removal of videoed or photographed sex acts he has been enticed to perform by someone with a fake online persona.
In both instances, the money is required to be transmitted to the perpetrator. And this is where the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) in Australia has come into its own, working with regulators and financiers to alert them to how to spot these transactions and then report them.
Essentially, ICMEC's work invokes one of the oldest principles adhered to by investigators of wrongdoing: follow the money.
(continued)
#10994627 at 2020-10-09 10:18:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #10 - INFORMATION WARFARE Edition
NAB didn't maintain records of human traffickers until 2019
1/2
NAB has been flagging around 10 transactions a month as potentially related to human trafficking but did not maintain its own records of its suspicions about the sinister nature of transactions involving criminals, terrorists and paedophiles until the middle of 2019.
The bank revealed over the seven months to January 2020 that it identified as many as 68 transactions as exhibiting characteristics consistent with human trafficking and another 148 with child exploitation before reporting them to the financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC.
The transactions shed new light on the prospect of action from AUSTRAC almost three years after it first revealed it was investigating and fixing problems relating to its compliance with Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing laws.
A NAB spokeswoman confirmed the bank updated its internal systems to automate the extraction of data in July 2019 but maintained the reports submitted to AUSTRAC have always been compliant.
"NAB SMR (suspicious matter reports) reports submitted to AUSTRAC include details of the suspected crime type, as required by law. It would be wrong to suggest otherwise," the spokeswoman said.
Last month AUSTRAC won a record $1.3 billion penalty from Westpac for 23 million breaches of the law and turning a blind eye to transactions of suspected paedophiles in an action which led to the departure of its CEO Brian Hartzer, chairman Lindsay Maxsted and widespread blood-letting in the executive suite.
NAB's suspicions about its customers and their transactions are laid out in a macabre table filed to a House of Representatives Economics Committee as part of a 23-page info dump in response to a question from Tim Wilson MP made in December 2019 about the number of transactions it flagged and types of criminal activity it suspected.
When the bank responded in January - the day before the Australia Day long weekend - hidden among the 10 separate documents was a breakdown of the suspected criminal activity behind 8110 suspicious matter reports filed to AUSTRAC between July 2019 and January 2020.
In addition to the human trafficking and child exploitation transactions NAB said it categorised another 6648 SMRs as consistent with money laundering, 15 with organised crime, 12 with terrorist financing, and two with crimes of a sexual nature.
Serious crimes
The bank said there were more than 1000 transactions it suspected as relating to "serious crimes" but could not be captured by the above categories because of their unique nature.
The bank said: "1217 SMRs relating to various other threats such as (not limited to) narcotics, family day care fraud, tax evasion, complex movement of funds, unregistered remittance service providers and other sanctions related suspicion".
(continued)
#10766945 at 2020-09-24 09:24:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #10 - INFORMATION WARFARE Edition
Westpac slugged with $1.3 billion fine over Austrac scandal
Westpac will cough up more than a billion dollars in penalties to the financial crimes watchdog for failing to stop transactions that funded child sex trafficking.
The country's second largest bank has agreed to pay the largest civil fine in Australian history, after admitting to 23 million breaches of financial crime laws relating to international transfers and transactions that funded terrorism and human trafficking for years.
Austrac's 2019 Westpac investigation revealed programming errors led to five years of millions of suspicious bank transfers not being reported to the watchdog.
The multitude of transfers to and from the bank equated to $11 billion. Westpac had failed to declare the transactions to Austrac within the adequate time frame.
In the statement of agreed facts, which will be presented to the Federal Court, it was revealed one Westpac customer had funded $40,000 relating to child exploitation syndicates in the Philippines from 2014 to 2018.
"Westpac failed to identify activity potentially indicative of child exploitation risks by failing to implement appropriate transaction monitoring detection scenarios," the statement said.
Westpac chief executive Peter King apologised for its failings relating to the historical transactions, which were not flagged as suspicious at the time.
"We are committed to fixing the issues to ensure that these mistakes do not happen again," he said.
"This has been my number one priority. We have also closed down relevant products and reported all relevant historical transactions."
Westpac conceded to the total number of breaches claimed by Austrac.
Austrac was initially trying to sap Westpac of $1.5 billion over the matter, while the bank had set $900 million in its 2020 half-year results in anticipation of the penalty.
The bank had originally admitted to about 19 million of the financial crime violations after an internal compliance probe, instead of the 23 million alleged by the financial crimes regulator.
The breaches were made to four overseas banks, with the processing errors related to a Westpac end-to-end technology system that did not properly record payment information.
Transfer issues also related to the installation of the LitePay payments product within the bank that facilitated overseas money transactions of up to $3000.
Austrac and the Attorney-General's office have previously warned frequent low value payments to the Philippines could be at risk of being related to child exploitation rings.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said the fine reflected the "very significant" and "serious failures" of Westpac's compliance regimen.
"The bank has admitted to 23 million breaches of counter money laundering and counter terrorism laws, which includes failing to report international funds transfers," he said.
"Some of those international funds transfers have been directly linked to the alleged facilitation or funding of child exploitation material in foreign countries."
After the revelations by Austrac, Westpac's then chief executive Brian Hartzer and chairman Lindsay Maxsted were forced to depart the bank.
The $1.3 billion fine dwarfs the $700 million penalty that Commonwealth Bank was forced to pay in 2018, after Austrac revealed uncapped deposits on ATMs had allowed arms and drug dealers to launder money into bank accounts.
Mr King said the bank was strengthening its abilities to identify suspicious behaviour, recruiting 200 financial crime employees.
"Westpac has made substantial investments to strengthen its systems, processes and controls to detect and report suspicious transactions," he said.
"We are determined to continually lift our financial crime standards, comply with our obligations and uphold our customer, community, and regulatory expectations."
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/westpac-pays-up-for-austral-scandal/news-story/4161d88925180d6dd70a124b8fafdb8e
—
Westpac and AUSTRAC reach agreement on AML/CTF civil proceedings subject to Federal Court approval
24 September 2020
Westpac Group has today announced it has reached an agreement with AUSTRAC to resolve the civil proceedings commenced in the Federal Court of Australia on 20 November 2019.
https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/media/media-releases/2020/24-september/
https://www.westpac.com.au/content/dam/public/wbc/documents/pdf/aw/media/WBC_asx_release_24-09-20.pdf
#9462372 at 2020-06-04 08:19:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 - WE ARE THE CURE Edition
Westpac blames tech and human error for money-laundering and child exploitation breaches
Internal report finds deficient processes and poor understanding but bank's CEO says there's 'no evidence of intentional wrongdoing'
Westpac has released the findings of an investigation into its money laundering and child exploitation scandal and says the failures occurred due to a mix of technology and human error, not "intentional wrongdoing".
The country's second-largest bank has blamed its breaches of anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws on deficient processes, poor understanding and lack of resources.
"While the compliance failures were serious, the problems were faults of omission. There was no evidence of intentional wrongdoing," Westpac's chief executive, Peter King, said in a statement.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre has accused the bank of failing anti-money laundering and counterterrorism laws on reporting transactions on 23m occasions. In November Austrac filed civil proceedings in the federal court against Westpac, forcing the bank to set aside $900m for a potential legal penalty.
In January Westpac set up an external advisory panel, comprising the former NBN chairman Ziggy Switkowski, the former Sydney chief executie CEO Kerry Schott and the BCG Australia co-founder Colin Carter to review the board's risk governance and accountability.
The failure properly to adhere to Austrac guidance for child exploitation risk in respect of some products occurred due to deficient financial crime processes, compounded by poor individual judgments, the bank said on Thursday. The failure of international funds transfer instructions non-reporting occurred due to a mix of technology and human error dating to 2009.
"Consequences that have been applied to individuals include significant remuneration impacts and disciplinary actions," King said.
"A number of relevant staff" had already left the company, he said.
The scandal led to the then Westpac chief executive, Brian Hartzer, and chairman, Lindsay Maxsted, stepping down, followed by a string of senior management changes.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/04/westpac-blames-tech-and-human-error-for-money-laundering-and-child-exploitation-breaches
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Westpac releases findings into AUSTRAC Statement of Claim issues
4 June 2020
Westpac today announced the results of its investigation into the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) compliance issues, as well as releasing the Advisory Panel Report into Board Governance of AML/CTF Obligations and the Promontory Assurance letter on management's accountability review.
https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/media/media-releases/2020/4-june/
https://www.westpac.com.au/content/dam/public/wbc/documents/pdf/aw/media/westpac-releases-findings-into-austrac-statement-of-claim-issues-media-release.pdf
#9181688 at 2020-05-15 08:43:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 - WE ARE THE CURE Edition
Westpac failed to properly monitor 12 suspicious customers in AUSTRAC case
Westpac has admitted it failed to adequately monitor 12 customers who allegedly made suspicious transactions fitting the pattern of payments for child exploitation, as it also admitted to millions of anti-money laundering breaches.
In its defence to a bombshell anti-money laundering lawsuit, the bank also admitted to 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering laws, due to failures in its transaction reporting and record-keeping.
The defence, filed with the Federal Court on Friday, also challenged some of the allegations made by financial intelligence agency Austrac, which launched the explosive legal proceedings against the bank last November.
The bank denied that it did not have a compliant anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing program and denied it had failed to carry out regular assessments of its correspondent banks.
Westpac was last year thrown into turmoil when Austrac alleged more than 23 million breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act, including the failure to vet 12 customers making payments that fit the pattern of funding child exploitation.
Austrac last year said the 12 customers, who it did not identify, made thousands of suspicious payments that could be linked to child exploitation and live child sex shows in the Philippines and other parts of south-east Asia.
Westpac's defence said each of the 12 customers did hold an account with Westpac, and it said they were the subject of "ongoing customer due diligence." However, the bank added that it "did not sufficiently monitor" the customers "with a view to identifying, mitigating and managing" the risk of child exploitation material.
Another part of Austrac's case was its claim the bank did not report 19.5 million international funds transfer instructions over nearly five years. Westpac's defence admitted these were not reported within the 10-day time limit, and pointed to problems with its computer systems from late 2011. The bank also admitted to more than 3.5 million breaches of certain record-keeping obligations.
The case also took aim at Westpac's program for meeting its AML/CTF obligations, alleging it did not have the appropriate risk-based systems and it took an inconsistent approach across the group. Westpac's defence denied this allegation, saying a 2014 Austrac review had found no evidence of non-compliance with the Act, but that it had been working on compliance "issues" between 2015 and 2019.
The Austrac lawsuit unleashed one of the biggest crises in Westpac's more-than-200-year history, sparking the resignation of former chief executive Brian Hartzer and the early departure of former chairman Lindsay Maxsted.
Westpac has signalled it intends to settle the case, and it last month took a $900 million provision for a penalty, which would be the biggest penalty in Australian corporate history.
A bank spokesman on Friday said the bank and Austrac were engaging constructively and in discussions over a statement of agreed facts and admissions.
"Westpac accepts the gravity of the issues raised by the Austrac claim and has made a large number of admissions in its response to the statement of claim," the bank said.
"Westpac acknowledges that financial crime is a serious threat to society and is determined to continue to lift its standards and meet its anti-money laundering and other financial crime obligations."
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-admits-to-insufficient-monitoring-of-12-customers-millions-of-breaches-20200515-p54te7.html
#8787394 at 2020-04-14 07:38:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 - FIRE & FURY Edition
Westpac braces for $1.03bn AUSTRAC hit
Westpac's child exploitation and money laundering scandal could blow a $1.03 billion hole in its first-half cash profit, with the bank setting aside an eye-watering $900 million for a potential legal penalty.
The figure would eclipse the record $700 million fine Commonwealth Bank copped in 2018 for its own breaches of AUSTRAC laws.
Westpac, which is accused of 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering laws, flagged the hit on Tuesday as part of $1.43 million in expected first-half writedowns and provisions.
Westpac said the final penalty paid following either a settlement and joint submission on a penalty, or a hearing, could be more or less than the $900 million it has set aside.
On top of the expected AUSTRAC fine, the bank said costs related to its financial crime response plan could reach $130 million, partly due to higher legal expenses.
Westpac chief executive Peter King, who was appointed early this month, said 200 people were being hired to prevent financial crime and a clearer accountability regime was being set up.
The big four lender will also book another $260 million in customer remediation related to the royal commission, and a $70 million asset hit from the coronavirus fallout.
The many Australians left unemployed from the pandemic will also have consequences for banks.
Westpac expects many customers will be unable to repay loans and it is factoring in a significant increase in its impairment charge.
The charge will be announced before its first-half results are published on May 4.
A provision of about $70 million has been made relating to changes to group life insurance.
Westpac Life Insurance Services will stop providing group life insurance to BT Super, and the former has written off acquisition costs.
Westpac is also yet to respond to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's advice to banks to consider postponing paying dividends to shareholders.
The bank said a decision on first-half dividends would be announced with its results.
APRA earlier this month asked banks to conserve capital and reduce dividends, given the uncertain economic outlook.
This would ensure banks could continue to lend and underwrite insurance.
Westpac's declaration of first half costs is the latest of the ramifications from its child exploitation and money laundering scandal.
The government's Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) in November filed proceedings in the Federal Court against Westpac.
The financial crimes watchdog says on 23 million occasions the bank failed anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws on reporting transactions.
Westpac also failed to use methods to detect payments possibly linked to child sex offences in south-east Asia, AUSTRAC said.
Many of the alleged offences occurred between November 2013 and September 2018.
The penalty could amount to billions of dollars.
The scandal prompted former boss Brian Hartzer to step down, and former chairman Lindsay Maxsted brought forward his retirement.
Shares in Westpac were trading lower by 2.0 cents, or 0.13 per cent, to $15.94 at 1330 AEST.
https://www.themercury.com.au/business/breaking-news/westpac-braces-for-103bn-austrac-hit/news-story/0f36062fa7f4ba73c4a034f58196ef62
#8398120 at 2020-03-13 06:47:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 - FIRE & FURY Edition
Westpac hit with third class action lawsuit over AUSTRAC scandal
Westpac has been hit with a third shareholder class action over allegations the bank failed to properly disclose the risk and extent of alleged anti-money laundering law breaches that are the basis of a lawsuit filed by the financial crimes regulator.
Melbourne-based corporate law firm Johnson Winter & Slattery served the country's oldest bank with the lawsuit on behalf of shareholders who acquired an interest in Westpac securities or equity swaps over the six-year period from December 16, 2013 and November 19 last year.
In November last year, financial crimes watchdog AUSTRAC served Westpac with an explosive statement of claim alleging the bank failed to properly vet 23 million payments, some of which could be linked to child exploitation and live child sex shows in the Philippines and other parts of south-east Asia. The scandal was followed by the resignation of chief executive Brian Hartzer and early retirement of chairman Lindsay Maxsted.
Westpac has signalled it will not fight the majority of the breaches alleged by AUSTRAC but a statement of agreed facts is yet to be released. This is the third shareholder class action filed as a result of the fallout, following suits by specialist law firm Phi Finney McDonald and international investor firm Rosen.
The lawsuit against Westpac and one of its prior executives will be bankrolled by litigation funder Burford Capital. A spokeswoman for Burford said the crux of the suit was "alleged systemic non-compliance" with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.
While the share price of all big four banks took a battering on Friday morning as the market continued to tumble amid coronavirus fears, Westpac reacted worst to the news, diving as much as 7.6 per cent to $16.40. It recovered with the broader market to close up 2.1 per cent at $17.64.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/westpac-hit-with-another-class-action-lawsuit-over-austrac-scandal-20200313-p549ns.html
#8351014 at 2020-03-08 21:25:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 - FIRE & FURY Edition
Resignations in the news
'''Westpac's Anita Fung joins boardroom exits==
Westpac risk and compliance committee member Anita Fung has joined a growing list of boardroom departures amid the bank's money laundering and child exploitation scandal.
The bank confirmed on Friday Ms Fung would retire from the board on March 31, the same leaving date given for its outgoing chairman Lindsay Maxsted.
Their exits follow the departure of former chief executive Brian Hartzer in November, who accepted ultimate accountability for the bank's alleged 23 million breaches of money laundering laws, and failure to properly monitor payments potentially linked to the streaming of child exploitation.
Westpac's risk and compliance committee head Ewen Couch has also gone, choosing not to seek re-election at the December 12 annual general meeting, when Westpac was roasted by furious shareholders and handed a second strike on executive pay.
Ms Fung retains her role as a member of Westpac's Asia Advisory Board.
https://www.sheppnews.com.au/finance/2020/03/06/1070479/westpacs-anita-fung-joins-boardroom-exits
—
Statement from World Vision Australia Board Chair Shannon Adams
World Vision Australia Board Chair Shannon Adams has today announced that after three and a half years of outstanding service, Chief Executive Claire Rogers has tendered her resignation to spend more time with her family before starting the next chapter of her career.
Ms Rogers has been an influential contributor to both World Vision and to the NGO sector in Australia, and the Board is thankful for her resolute focus on building good foundations for the future.
"Claire has made a significant contribution to support vulnerable children throughout the world in our humanitarian work, including in the advocacy campaign, Kids Off Nauru, innovations such as 1000 Girls, and in leading an organisation-wide digital transformation," Mr Adams said.
"Claire leaves World Vision Australia in a very strong position for future growth, and the Board sincerely thanks her for her contribution and leadership during her tenure as CEO.
https://www.worldvision.com.au/media-centre/resource/statement-from-world-vision-australia-board-chair-shannon-adams
#8071627 at 2020-02-08 09:12:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 - FIRE & FURY Edition
Westpac knew anti-crime provisions were inadequate years ago, MPs told
Labor senator reads out secret report in parliamentary inquiry over objections from bank
Westpac knew its ability to fight financial crime was inadequate two years before legal action in November in which authorities accused it of 23m breaches of the law that included allowing customers to pay for child exploitation in the Philippines, federal parliament has heard.
The bank's risk of breaching anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism finance (AML-CTF) laws was unacceptably high and the bank accepted it needed to improve its systems, the prudential regulator was told in a secret report delivered by accounting firm EY in 2017.
On Friday, Labor senator Deborah O'Neill read out sections of the report during a committee inquiry into auditors, steamrolling through objections from Westpac executives and warnings from the chair of the committee, Liberal James Paterson.
O'Neill also blasted Westpac for refusing to give the committee a list of documents she requested on 28 January, and only informing the committee of its position at 6.30pm on Thursday night.
The report was prepared by EY for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) so that Westpac could comply with a prudential standard, CPS 220, that requires it to have systems in place to monitor and mitigate its risk.
O'Neill said: "EY's overall conclusion was the design of Westpac's risk management framework was overall adequate, appropriate and partially effective for an institution of the size and complexity of Westpac."
However, EY found that "risk identification, assessment and management of non-financial risk was evaluated as partially effective and partially adequate".
"Westpac has noted that financial crime is an area that requires improvement," she said, reading from the report.
She continued: "The risk of breaching AML-CTF obligations has at times been outside of appetite and we observe there have been issues across several jurisdictions reflecting heightened regulatory expectations and an acknowledgment by Westpac that its current AML-CTF capabilities require improvement."
"Outside of appetite" is a term meaning that the risk of a breach of the law was higher than management of the bank was willing to accept.
"Westpac are investing in the roll-out of a new transaction monitoring system ... to enhance its financial crime capability," O'Neill said, again reading from the report.
Westpac's chief risk officer, David Stephen, who was giving evidence to the hearing, repeatedly complained that the report had been provided to the committee on a confidential basis.
He and the acting chief financial officer, Gary Thursby, declined to answer most of O'Neill's questions on the basis that Westpac was facing multiple investigations and lawsuits over the breaches.
Australia's financial intelligence agency, Austrac, launched federal court legal action against Westpac over the alleged breaches on 20 November last year, sending the bank's share price into a steep decline.
While most of the 23m breaches alleged by Austrac relate to its treatment of international funds transfer instructions, the regulator also alleged it failed to stop a dozen customers making more than 3,000 low-value payments to the Philippines that were consistent with child exploitation.
These customers included six who had repeatedly travelled to the Philippines or south-east Asia and one who had a prior conviction for child abuse, Austrac said in court documents.
The lawsuit resulted in the former chief executive Brian Hartzer, chairman Lindsay Maxsted and the non-executive director responsible for oversight of risk, Ewen Crouch, tendering their resignations.
Thursby was elevated into his current role as a temporary replacement for Peter King, who is acting as CEO until a new boss is found.
O'Neill savaged the bank over its lack of cooperation with the committee, saying that despite its ability to command legions of lawyers it had failed to make a proper application for public interest immunity against production of documents.
"Your counsel simply doesn't understand the rights of parliament to demand that information," she told Stephen and Thursby.
Stephen apologised for the lateness of Westpac's letter on Thursday night.
"With the benefit of hindsight that communication wasn't appropriate," he said.
(continued)
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/07/westpac-knew-anti-crime-provisions-were-inadequate-years-ago-mps-told
#7836768 at 2020-01-17 07:00:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #6 - YEAR OF THE BOOMERANG Edition
Repost from Q Research General #10024
>>7831469 (pb)
Westpac linked to international paedophilia case after Australian man charged
Westpac has been linked to an international paedophilia case following the arrest of a notorious Australian sex offender who is suspected of using the bank's transfer system to pay for live-streamed child abuse videos in south-east Asia.
It is the first instance where an attempt to procure abuse of a child has been tied to Westpac's failure to heed warnings since 2016 from money laundering watchdog AUSTRAC that lax standards for its LitePay and other money transfer systems could be used to facilitate the international child sex trade.
The Victorian man allegedly attempted to arrange for a child to be exploited in a south-east Asian country recently. It is not known whether the alleged abuse went ahead.
The criminal charges against the man come after Westpac had been privately suggesting to the market since the scandal broke in late November that there was no evidence any act of child exploitation had occurred despite more than 3000 suspicious payments being identified.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been arrested and charged by the Australian Federal Police with soliciting child abuse material and possessing child abuse material.
Police are still examining thousands of the man's private social media messages.
The AFP declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.
Legal restrictions prevent the publication of details of the case, except that the man allegedly used Westpac systems to send tens of thousands of dollars to a south-east Asian country in more than 100 transactions since late 2018 and recently attempted to solicit live-streamed child sex abuse.
The man has denied any wrongdoing.
The registered sex offender had already served a substantial jail term for ordering live-streamed child sex abuse from contacts in a south-east Asian country.
A Westpac spokesman said the bank was unable to provide comment on specific matters while proceedings are before the court.
"We have made a number of changes to our transaction monitoring to lift our standards and ensure our financial crime processes meet our obligations," he said. "Westpac is working co-operatively to resolve this matter with AUSTRAC."
The revelation will be a further blow to the embattled institution, which has already lost its chief executive Brian Hartzer, experienced massive share price drops and suffered an intense backlash from the public, politicians and shareholders.
Westpac announced on Thursday that it had appointed Colin Carter, president of the Geelong Football Club, as the third member of an advisory panel reviewing the bank board's risk, governance and accountability.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-linked-to-international-paedophilia-case-after-australian-man-charged-20200116-p53s61.html
#7374314 at 2019-11-26 04:47:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #6 - YEAR OF THE BOOMERANG Edition
Westpac CEO pushed out amid child exploitation scandal
Brian Hartzer has become the first casualty of the money laundering and child exploitation scandal that has engulfed the major bank.
Westpac chief executive officer Brian Hartzer has been pushed out as the major lender battles an investigation by Australia's financial intelligence agency over a money laundering and child exploitation scandal.
The bank's leader will step down on December 2 with a hefty golden handshake of 12 months' pay, which amounts to $2.7 million.
Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted said this morning the board accepted the "gravity" of the issues raised by AUSTRAC.
"As was appropriate, we sought feedback from all our stakeholders including shareholders and having done so it became clear that board and management changes were in the best interest of the bank," he said in a statement released to the Australian Securities Exchange.
Mr Hartzer said he was "ultimately accountable for everything that happens at the bank".
"It is clear that we have fallen well short of what the community expects of us, and we expect of ourselves," he said in a statement issued by Westpac.
It comes after a report in The Australian revealed Mr Hartzer attempted to lobby support from Westpac's senior leaders by saying the scandal "was not playing out as a high street issue".
"We all read the Fin (The Australian Financial Review) and The Australian, and we all read that and think the world is ending," he said, according to the newspaper's two sources.
"But actually for people in mainstream Australia going about their daily lives, this is not a major issue so we don't need to overcook this.''
Mr Maxsted will also bring forward his retirement to early 2020, while Director Ewen Crouch - who is in charge of risk and compliance - will not stand for re-election at the Westpac annual general meeting on December 12.
AUSTRAC chief executive Nicole Rose told reporters last Wednesday the major lender failed to report more than 19.5 million international funds transfers over five years.
The transfers amounted to $11 billion, which Ms Rose said resulted in a "significant loss of intelligence" for the financial crimes agency.
"Westpac failed to pass on information about the origin of international funds transfers and keep records as required," she said.
The most staggering indictment in AUSTRAC's bid to investigate Westpac was less than $500,000 that a dozen of its customers allegedly paid to the Philippines and South East Asia.
The agency says these types of payments are consistent with transfers made to those who are involved with child exploitation.
"Westpac failed to introduce appropriate detection scenarios to detect known child exploitation typologies, consistent with AUSTRAC guidance and their own risk assessments," Ms Rose said.
Current chief financial officer Peter King will serve as acting chief executive from December 2 until a new boss is appointed.
Mr Maxsted said the interim chief has been tasked with implementing the Westpac Response Plan in the face of the child exploitation scandal.
"Peter has had a long and distinguished career at Westpac and has been the CFO since 2014," Mr Maxsted said. "He is the right choice to provide stability and direction to the bank and its people.
"He is an executive of exceptional integrity who is deeply respected by the market and the entire Westpac team."
FACILITATING 'HORRENDOUS TYPES' OF CRIME
Attorney-General Christian Porter said the "enormous" number of alleged money laundering breaches by Westpac had the potential to facilitate "the most horrendous crimes".
"Anyone who breaches money laundering laws and therefore allows money to be laundered, has - just as a matter of fact and common sense - contributed to the facilitating of international and domestic crimes of a variety of types," he told 6PR on Thursday.
"The reason people launder money is to hide the profits of crime and criminality and to fund further crime and criminality, which is why we have such strong laws, such strong penalties and why the government takes such an incredibly robust approach to money laundering."
Investment bank Citi noted in a report last week aimed at predicting the ensuing bloodbath at Westpac how similar scandals had resulted in mass changes to executive teams.
NAB's chief executive and chairman followed most of its management team out the door after a foreign exchange trading furore in 2004 cost the bank $360 million.
CBA chief executive Ian Narev stepped down amid significant management and board changes at the major lender after its AUSTRAC settlement related to anti-money laundering and terror-financing charges.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/banking/westpac-ceo-resigns-amid-child-exploitation-scandal/news-story/a1b785b735053246572609d567eb6ebd
#7364119 at 2019-11-24 06:49:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #6 - YEAR OF THE BOOMERANG Edition
Legal breaches allowed Westpac customers to pay for child sexual abuse undetected, Austrac alleges
Agency alleges Westpac failed to monitor 12 customers who made transactions consistent with child exploitation typologies
Westpac's failure to obey anti-money laundering and counter-terror finance laws allowed a customer to make payments to a person in the Philippines who was later arrested for child sex trafficking and livestreaming child sexual abuse, the financial intelligence agency alleges.
The allegation is just one of more than 23 million breaches of the law - involving more than $11bn in transactions - the bank is accused of in a federal court lawsuit filed by Austrac on Wednesday.
During a hastily called teleconference with reporters on Wednesday afternoon the Westpac boss, Brian Hartzer, said he was "disgusted and appalled" by the allegations, but said he would not resign.
"As CEO of Westpac I am very sorry this has happened and we will fix it," he said.
"I will be personally leading our response to all of these issues."
In a sign Westpac will not fight Austrac in court, he said he accepted the allegations in a statement of claim filed by the regulator "almost overwhelmingly".
He refused to estimate how much the bank will have to pay to settle the lawsuit, but based on previous cases it is likely to run into the billions of dollars.
Documents filed by Austrac with the court paint a picture of a bank that for years has failed to take money laundering and terror finance risks seriously, despite executives flagging concerns since at least 2016.
In its most serious allegations, Austrac accuses Westpac of failing to monitor a dozen customers who made frequent transactions that were "consistent with child exploitation typologies".
These typologies involve "customers with no apparent family ties to the Philippines/south-east Asia, frequently remitting small sums of money to multiple beneficiaries in the Philippines/south-east Asia within short timeframes," Austrac said in its statement of claim.
Austrac alleges that more than 3,000 payments totalling almost $500,000 went undetected by Westpac for years, even though six of the customers repeatedly travelled to the Phillipines or other destinations in south-east Asia.
Payments that should have been detected were being made as recently as two months ago, it said.
The regulator said "Customer 1", who paid money to the person later arrested for child trafficking and exploitation, transferred $136,000 to the Philippines between November 2013 and July this year, when Westpac finally detected the payments.
It said Customer 1's bank account also showed he travelled to the Philippines in 2014 and 2016.
"In October 2014 and November 2014 Customer 1 transferred money to a person located in the Philippines who was later arrested in November 2015 for child trafficking and child exploitation involving live streaming of child sex shows and offering children for sex," Austrac said in the statement of claim.
"Had Westpac been appropriately monitoring for frequent low value transactions consistent with child exploitation typologies in 2014, these transactions would have come to its attention."
Austrac does not name the recipients in its court documents, but the November 2015 date approximately coincides with Philippines authorities busting two child exploitation rings, one run by the Australian child rapist Peter Scully, and another run by Filipino women Lyan Tandeg and Shellina Nisperos.
Hartzer declined to answer when asked if any of the money went to Scully or his associates.
"We don't have visibility about whether or not particular crimes have happened, that's a matter for the regulator," he said.
"I can't comment on any individuals as part of that."
Austrac alleges that in 2017 another customer, "Customer 3", transferred money to a suspected "child exploitation facilitator" in the Philippines.
The bank also failed to conduct "enhanced due diligence" in relation to "Customer 12", who "had a prior conviction for child exploitation offences", the regulator said.
…..
Many of the transactions took place through a system called LitePay. Austrac said Westpac had been aware of the child exploitation risks relating to LitePay since 2013 but did not fix them until June 2018.
This was even though by May 2016 "Westpac itself had assessed the heightened child exploitation risks associated with low value payments to the Philippines through LitePay and other channels".
Westpac introduced an automated system supposed to identify suspect payments in August 2016, but by the end of February 2017 the bank knew it had failed to trigger, Austrac said.
(continued)
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/21/legal-breaches-allowed-westpac-customers-to-pay-for-child-sex-undetected-austrac-alleges
8chan/8kun QResearch NEW ZEALAND Posts (1)
#7368868 at 2019-11-25 06:40:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research New Zealand #3
Re-post from main thread as Westpac is the NZ Government Bank
Westpac woes widen as ASIC probe confirmed
Westpac faces an ASIC probe, while up to $8.06 billion has been wiped from its market capitalisation since the bank was ensnared in a money laundering scandal.
Westpac faces a fresh investigation into its alleged money laundering and child exploitation scandal as the lender scrambles to salvage its reputation and stem a share price plunge that has now stretched into a fourth session.
Westpac has lost as much as $8.06 billion from is market capitalisation since financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC announced last week it was taking the bank to court over an alleged 23 million breaches of money laundering laws.
The alleged breaches, which included claims the bank facilitated payments linked with child trafficking and sex offences, prompted the nation's second largest lender to slash executive bonuses and shut down its international transfer platform LitePay as its management team faces increasing pressure.
And the heat was turned up another notch on Monday when the corporate watchdog ASIC confirmed it too would be examining the bank for potential legal breaches, believed to relate to the Corporations Act and whether directors breached their duties.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will also be investigating the bank, while chairman Lindsay Maxsted is set to front key investors this week in a series of meetings that could decide his future, and that of chief executive Brian Hartzer.
Confirmation of ASIC's investigation comes after Westpac released a statement on Sunday outlining its response plan to AUSTRAC's legal action, with Mr Maxsted saying the bank was "determined to urgently fix (the) issues".
These new commitments - which include closing LitePay, lifting standards through priority screening, and investing in initiatives to reduce the human impact of financial crime - will incur an extra $80 million pre-tax expense in FY20.
"We accept that we have fallen short of both our own and regulators' standards and are determined to get all the facts and assess accountability," Mr Maxsted said in a statement.
"In the interim, the board has determined that either all or part of the grant of the 2019 Short Term Variable Reward will be withheld for the full Executive team and several members of the general management team subject to the assessment of accountability."
AUSTRAC's claims hammered Westpac's share price for three straight trading sessions at the end of the week - wiping as much as $6.78 billion from the bank's value by Friday's close.
Westpac shares hit a fresh 10-month low of $24.26 in early trade, representing $8.06 billion hit to its value since Tuesday's close.
Shares in the bank recovered somewhat after 15 minutes but were still 1.41 per cent lower at $24.42 by 1315 AEST, against a 0.38 per cent climb for the broader ASX/200.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/breaking-news/westpac-to-cut-executives-bonuses/news-story/5c23648769c79d27c14d245321d821de