In a letter sent on 4 June, AUSTRAC advised NAB of “potential serious and ongoing non-compliance” with customer identification procedures and ongoing customer due diligence.
AUSTRAC’s enforcement team has now launched a formal investigation, though the letter states that a decision is yet to be made on whether enforcement action will be taken.
NAB chief executive Ross McEwan said that the bank will cooperate with AUSTRAC in its investigations.
“NAB takes its financial crime obligations seriously,” he said.
“We are very aware that we need to further improve our performance in relation to these matters. We have been working to improve and clearly have more to do.
“NAB has an important role in monitoring and reporting suspicious activity and keeping Australia’s financial system, our bank and our customers safe.
“It is a key priority for everyone at NAB to uplift our financial crime capabilities, minimise risk to customers and the bank and improve operational performance.
“That’s why we are so focused on getting the basics right every time to protect our customers and our bank.”
