Westpac's failures: how did they happen?

James Eyers and James Frost

Nov 20, 2019 – 3.56pm

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Of the 23 million alleged breaches of the anti-money laundering law committed by Westpac Banking Corp, it's a smaller set – a little over 3000 transactions – that could prove to be the undoing of chief executive Brian Hartzer.

The final eight pages of AUSTRAC’s 47 page statement of claim are dedicated to 12 Westpac customers, who transferred a total of $497,612 in small amounts to the Philippines, and other south-east Asian countries.

James Eyers writes on banking, payments and fintech. He is a former legal and investment banking editor at the AFR, has degrees in commerce and law from UNSW, and is co-author of Buy now, pay later: The extraordinary story of Afterpay

James Frost writes about banking, funds management and superannuation. Based in Melbourne, James has been reporting on specialist business and finance topics for 15 years.