Westpac, one of our four giant banking institutions has had a punative fine of one point three billion dollars imposed for illegal banking practices and this far exceeds the past record of $700 million imposed on the Commonwealth bank in 2018. In that instance, the Commonwealth bank was convicted of laundering money for drug dealers through its network of ATM's.
These fines are imposed by AUSTRAC, which is the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre managing the money flow in this country. AUSTRAC alleges that Westpac has breached anti money laundering laws on twenty-three million separate occasions, including customers who paid for child exploitation and live child sex shows in the Philippines and other parts of south-east Asia.
No doubt, many people will be impressed by the size of this massive fine. It is not claimable as a legitimate tax deduction and so it will come out of the bank's profit, and that means a smaller dividend to the shareholders.
Once again, it is the public who have invested in shares in banks who pay the fine for the banks misdeeds and the high flyers who occupy the prestige corner offices - and take home pay packets that run to millions that walk away whistling Dixie.
The bank broke laws in place to prevent money flowing for sex crimes that involve children. Banks make money by facilitating the passage of money and this fine is the outcome of misery being inflicted on little kids in overseas countries. Some people will wonder whether the punishment handed out fits the crime committed.
That loss of dividend will make shareholders angry and they may call for the top figures to stand down, but if so they will walk away with their superannuation and soon find another less well paying job. This was a crime, and the punishment for crime is usually a stint behind bars in a prison.
We will never get ethics in banking until a crime such as this results in the very people responsible being seen on the television nightly news being marched out the bank door in handcuffs and taken away in paddy wagons. We would expect to follow their trial with interest, and the prison term imposed would have a sobering effect on the people promoted to take their place in the banking system.
It should be up to AUSTRAC to name who was responsible and that certainly is not junior staff who their superiors will be quick to blame. Positions of management carry responsibility to ensure that the laws in place are obeyed, and that is why they get those corner offices and the big salaries.
We seem to have a cavalier Attitude to crime. The common thief who nicks someone's property ends up before a very unsympathetic magistrate and earns a prison term. The man or woman who facilitates sex crimes against children overseas by ignoring banking laws escapes punishment and instead it is imposed on the people who bought the company shares in good faith.
If we want ethics in banking that can only be achieved by ensuring that punishment fits the crime.
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