Australian gaming corporation Tabcorp has been fined A$45-million for “breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws,” according to Racing.com. The fine is believed to be the largest civil penalty ever handed out in the country. The Federal Court found that Tabcorp failed to notify authorities of 108 counts of suspicious behaviour over a period of five years.
Paul Jevtovic, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, told Racing.com, “It wasn't until AUSTRAC drew these deficiencies to the attention that they have been found out. There can be no doubt that this was a serious failure in the corporate governance and the size of the penalty reflects a consistent and extensive noncompliance. Its money laundering and terrorism financing function was at times under-resourced, and Tabcorp senior management didn't regularly receive reports in relation to the money laundering and terrorism finance compliance. Quite simply it failed in its obligations.”
Tabcorp Chief Executive Officer David Attenborough said in a statement, “We remain firmly committed to continuing to work cooperatively with AUSTRAC into the future. We have made a significant investment in enhancing our compliance over the last three years and remain focused on being the industry leader in regulatory compliance across all of our operations.”
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