Commonwealth Bank of Australia <CBA.AX> said on Wednesday that the country's corporate regulator will not take any action against the bank or its directors over a high-profile 2017 case of breaches of anti-money laundering laws.
The charges were brought by financial crime regulator AUSTRAC in 2017 and resulted in the country's top lender paying a record penalty https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-cba-moneylaundering/australias-cba-seeks-redemption-with-record-settlement-idUSKCN1IZ0YZ of A$700 million ($503.72 million) a year later.
In an after-market announcement, CBA said the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the corporate regulator, informed them that no enforcement action would be taken against the bank or its directors and officers over disclosures or their conduct as it finished its investigation.
The charges revealed in 2017 triggered a board shake-up and saw the chief executive officer at the time announce his retirement https://in.reuters.com/article/australia-cba/australias-cba-says-ceo-narev-to-stand-down-amid-money-laundering-scandal-idINKCN1AU11W.
Australia's second-largest lender Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> is currently facing a money-laundering scandal brought to light late last year and could potentially face a fine larger than CBA's.
($1 = 1.3897 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)
