Orders made in ongoing CBA v AUSTRAC matter
The Federal Court has made orders, including a referral to mediation, at the request of both the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), regarding the civil penalty proceedings underway between the two.
The proceedings, initiated by the Centre in August, last year, related to money laundering over a period of over six years. CBA was accused of almost 54,000 contraventions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006.
The orders also required that AUSTRAC file and serve any reply to CBA’s amended defence by 6 April, 2018. The bank amended its defence following the addition of 100 charges to the Centre’s prosecution in December, last year.
AUSTRAC would also need to set a timetable for evidence in the proceedings should mediation prove unsuccessful.
The mediation would need to occur by 25 May, this year, under the orders.
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