NAB faces heavy penalties after admitting money-laundering breach
National Australia Bank (NAB) faces the prospect of further remediation and a massive fine after revealing it might have made multiple breaches of counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws.
The bank said in its annual report on Friday that it might have been involved in a breach or alleged breaches of laws governing bribery, corruption and financial crime.
NAB said it has self-reported “a number” of issues to financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC.
The bank also said that it provided documents and information to the financial intelligence watchdog.
NAB is unsure how deeply the issue had run as well as how significant any AUSTRAC penalty would be.
“The potential outcome and total costs associated with the investigation and remediation process remain uncertain,” the bank said in its annual report, according to The New Daily.
“Given the large volume of transactions that the group processes, the undetected failure of internal AML/CTF controls, or the ineffective implementation or remediation of compliance issues, could result in a significant number of breaches … and significant monetary penalties.”