Westpac bank

In a statement the Bank says it will continue to grow alongside its customers and the economies of Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Westpac says it believes it has a great role to play in this region with their ability to be a strong, stable and trusted financial partner in the Pacific.

Westpac Pacific Managing Director, Damien MacRae, says the Bank has proudly supported Fiji’s and PNGs economic growth and development for more than a century and they are well placed to continue this support.

The penalty is the biggest in Australian corporate history, and is almost double the previous record $700 million fine paid by the Commonwealth Bank for almost 54,000 money laundering breaches, revealed by the ABC in 2017.

In a statement, AUSTRAC said Westpac had admitted to breaching the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act more than 23 million times.

Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) is responsible for picking up criminal abuse of the financial system in Australia.