NAB and CBA Exposed Over PNG Money Laundering Case

Richard Marley
July 13, 2021
2 minutes read
114

NAB and CBA have been given a “formal warning” instead of criminal charges, as the PNG regulator claimed this was the “least punitive” response.

BSP Financial Group, the largest lender in the Pacific, has put CBA (Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and NAB (National Australia Bank) under scrutiny once again for their part in the money laundering case in Papua New Guinea. Following the breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) laws, the lender has been ordered to remove members from its senior management.

PNG regulators found BSP to have committed several violations of the anti-money laundering laws, closing up to thousands of individual breaches.

The bank is being asked by the regulators to remove and replace certain members of the higher management, including the chief executive, Robin Fleming. BSP has also been mandated to hire an external auditor to ensure it stays compliant with AML laws in the future.

While BSP could have faced criminal and civil charges given the seriousness of its AML breach, the Financial Analysis and Supervision Unit (FASU) which sits within the PNG central bank, issued the lender with a “formal warning”, saying this was the “least punitive” response.

“These regulatory measures seek to address the systemic culture of non-compliance within BSP … and are deemed necessary to protecting the integrity of PNG’s financial system,” the FASU stated in a statement authorized by its director, Benny Popoitai.

CBA and NAB are known to provide a gateway for BSP’s clients to transfer money in and out of Australia, as they provide so-called “correspondent” banking services to BSP in Australia.

Additionally, according to Australian law, NAB and CBA have been directed to implement “due diligence assessments” on their “correspondent banks” (BSP in this case) to ensure they are not facilitating money laundering.

BSP’s operations are spread across PNG, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, the Cook Islands and Cambodia. It also has correspondent banking relationships with Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

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ASIC Expands its Team to Enhance Cryptocurrency Regulations
Australia’s financial regulator has enhanced the size of its crypto team. The crypto regulatory measures include their application for financial services licenses and show that specific crypto platforms have particular liquidity in reserve.

After shifting popular blockchain from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) system, ASIC, Australia’s financial regulator, has increased the size of its crypto team.

U.S. Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler stated that PoS-based tokens might be classified as securities.

The decision of ASIC to keep PoS tokens for example Ethereum, Cardano and Solana under its remit will further clarify the situation and enable crypto regulations to be more effective. To cope with the latest regulatory reforms, the crypto exchange must either delist the tokens or start complying with robust crypto laws.

Such moves may force a few crypto firms to manage their operating models. Even the largest stablecoin of the crypto market, Tether, has been caught in a controversy created over the failure of holding enough dollar reserves to back the stablecoin.

The crypto regulatory measures include their application for financial services licenses and show that these platforms have particular liquidity in reserve.

The final decision by the regulator has not been issued yet. Greg Yanco, the executive director for marketers, said that ASIC won’t be a “cheerleader for crypto assets.”

SEC Newgate carried out research the last November. It showed that 44% of Australian retail investors reported holding crypto. Out of these investors, only 20% viewed crypto as high-risk.

The chairperson of ASIC responded and said that the regulators were “concerned that there are limited protections for crypto-asset investments given they have become increasingly mainstream and are heavily advertised and promoted. There is a strong case for regulating crypto-assets to better protect investors.”

According to Yanco, until the last year, cryptocurrency was not such a high priority. Still, due to the decline of cryptocurrency in the previous few years and investors wiped out around the globe, ASIC expanded its team. It made crypto one of its “core strategic projects.”

Suggested Read: Regulatory Authorities to File a New Bill to Secure the Citizens from Cyber Criminal Activities

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Forensic document verification involves incorporation of scientific rules in examining the authenticity of records. There are experts in this field who carry out all the operations using specialized methods. Nowadays, the use of forensics is rising, especially in courts where no document is accepted without authentication. By using several techniques like handwriting identification, ultraviolet light sources, microscopes, photography, and infrared imaging in the laboratories, a document is verified. All the major jurisdictions have formed dedicated institutions which overlook the process of document verification. The American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) is the primary authoritative body responsible for monitoring forensic operations in the US, and any person carrying out these activities anywhere in the country must be a member of this board.

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NAB and CBA Exposed Over PNG Money Laundering Case

Forensic Document Verification – A New Standard

How Forensic Document Verification is Carried Out?

High-Profile Crime Cases of Document Fraud

Gang Arrested for Printing Fake Documents in Greece

Criminal Network Busted for Distributing Fake Documents

Regulatory Authorities Monitoring Document Fraud

Canada

Australia

Document Forgery Forensic Authentication – Ensuring KYC Compliance

What Shufti Pro Offers?

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Let’s prove your customer’s

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