CBA agrees to shell out record $529.3m penalty

The payment will settle money laundering charges brought by the financial intelligence agency.

Reuters reports that Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has agreed to pay record penalty of $529.3m (A$700m) to settle money laundering charges brought against the bank by the country’s financial intelligence agency.

The bank admitted to breaching money laundering and terror financing laws on 53,750 occasions, according to a statement of facts tendered in court by both parties, after it failed to adequately notify the regulator of transactions by customers who posed the potential risk of terrorism or terrorism financing.

The move comes shortly after the bank shelled out a combined $18.67m (A$25m) for allegations of rate manipulation in trading on the Bank Bill Swap Rate (BBSW) market.

“Whilst not deliberate, we fully appreciate the seriousness of the mistakes we made,” CEO Matt Comyn said in a statement. “Our agreement today is a clear acknowledgement of our failures and is an important step towards moving the bank forward.”

Also read: CBA lost nearly 20 million customer records

Here’s more from Reuters: