ASB AML-CFT proceedings

The High Court has approved the agreed $6.731m penalty for ASB in relation to breaches under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act raised by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ).

ASB CEO Vittoria Shortt said: "We accept the Court's findings and the penalty. In particular, we accept responsibility for shortcomings in our transaction monitoring and customer due diligence systems and processes. We accept we didn't act fast enough to resolve the issue and I apologise for that.

"We cleared all backlogs of transaction monitoring alerts by February 2024 and have had no backlogs since. We have uplifted, and continue to uplift, our systems and processes to improve our AML/CFT capabilities. We have invested significantly in training our people, expanding our financial crime teams and enhancing the technology that supports our financial crime operations.

"Protecting our customers and the financial system is a core priority for ASB. We remain committed to further strengthening our AML/CFT compliance systems."