National Australia Bank (NAB) has entered into an enforceable undertaking (EU) with AUSTRAC.
The EU follows an enforcement investigation undertaken by AUSTRAC, which commenced in June 2021, in relation to NAB’s compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.
NAB CEO Ross McEwan said: “We take our AML/CTF obligations very seriously. We acknowledge the concerns that led to AUSTRAC’s investigation. We recognise it has taken us longer to fix the concerns raised than it should have. We welcome AUSTRAC’s acknowledgement that NAB has undertaken significant work to date – and we accept that there is more to do. Keeping criminals out of the financial system is a top priority for NAB. We recognise our opportunity to better detect, deter and disrupt the flow of illegal money at a time when the threat is evolving at an incredible rate.”
Under the terms of the EU, NAB and the relevant members of the Group are required to:
- Complete a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) approved by AUSTRAC by December 31, 2024.
- Many activities required under the RAP, such as improvements to NAB’s AML/CTF program and remediation of the high-risk customers the subject of the Customer Identity Remediation program, have already commenced and are expected to be delivered within the next 12 months.
