ING self-reports into AUSTRAC enforceable undertaking

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

24 November 2022

ING Bank has been hit with an enforceable undertaking imposed as part of the AUSTRAC regime.

AUSTRAC announced today it had accepted an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) from two entities in the ING Bank Australia group (ING Bank Australia Ltd and ING Bank N.V., Sydney Branch) to uplift its compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.

The announcement said that ING self-identified and voluntarily reported shortcomings in relation to its compliance with its anti-money laundering obligations. The resulting regulatory inquiries, including an investigation, identified concerns in relation to AML/CTF program, monitoring systems and controls, and reporting to AUSTRAC.

It said ING have undertaken to continue their work to improve their AML/CTF governance and assurance controls and ensure they remain fit for purpose into the future. As part of the EU, they will continue to improve their:

AML/CTF program;

ML/TF risk assessment;

IFTI and SMR reporting; and

transaction monitoring.

AUSTRAC will monitor ING’s progress to ensure that actions are taken within the timeframes, through ongoing discussions and regular reporting to AUSTRAC on their progress.

AUSTRAC Chief Executive Officer, Nicole Rose, said that the enforceable undertaking aims to ensure that the remediation efforts of ING are appropriately directed towards future compliance.

“ING have been fully cooperating with AUSTRAC throughout our regulatory inquiries and have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to addressing concerns about the effectiveness of their AML/CTF systems and controls.” Ms Rose said.

“I would like to acknowledge the significant work already undertaken by ING in identifying and implementing improvements to their programs. We look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure they meet their obligations under the AML/CTF Act.”

“It’s important that all businesses enrolled with AUSTRAC have robust systems in place to ensure they meet their AML/CTF obligations and play their part in protecting Australia’s financial system from exploitation by criminals.”