CBA released a short statement on Friday, 4 August, saying that it is preparing a "statement of defence" in response to allegations by AUSTRAC that the bank made 53,700 contravention of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF) by allowing millions of dollars to be laundered.
The statement follows a longer statement on Thursday by CBA which acknowledged the civil proceedings brought by AUSTRAC in the Federal Court.
AUSTRAC accused CBA on Thursday of failing to properly monitor millions of dollars in cash deposited via its "intelligent deposit machines".
Responding to the proceedings, CBA said that it has been in discussions with AUSTRAC for an extended period and has cooperated fully with the agency's requests.
“We have invested more than $230 million in our anti-money laundering compliance and reporting processes and systems," the statement said. "We take our regulatory obligations extremely seriously and we are one of the largest reporters to AUSTRAC.”
CBA added: “Money laundering undermines the integrity of our financial system and impacts the Australian community’s safety and wellbeing.”
