Westpac Pays Record A$1.3 Billion to Settle Laundering Suit
- Westpac admits to further 76,000 contraventions in settlement
- Fine is larger than A$900 million bank set aside for penalty
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Westpac Banking Corp. will pay a record A$1.3 billion ($920 million) fine to settle Australia’s biggest breach of anti-money laundering laws, capping a saga that shredded the bank’s reputation and cost former Chief Executive Officer Brian Hartzer his job.
The fine, the largest levied against an Australian company, is more than the A$900 million Westpac had set aside for a potential penalty, and almost double the A$700 million that rival Commonwealth Bank of Australia paid to settle its own money-laundering breaches in 2018.