CommBank weaves Austrac defence
Commonwealth Bank said on Friday it would "admit … in whole or in part" around 160 of the allegations levelled against it by regulator Austrac last year, while contesting hundreds more.But it " categorically denies all allegations of liability made against it," in a class action dependant on the civil proceedings bought by the Australian financial intelligence agency in August 2017.The class action is at least as sensitive to the bank's board as the matters levelled by the regulator.The class action (by Zonia Holdings Pty Ltd) alleges that between July 2015 and August 2017 CBA failed to disclose to the market material information in relation to aspects of its AML/CTF controls that are the subject of the Austrac proceeding, the bank explained in a summary of its Amended Concise Statement in Response filed in defence on the Austrac proceeding.The allegations "include that CBA failed to disclose that it was potentially exposed to an enforcement action by Austrac."The bank said it "rejects the assertion that it had any price sensitive information in respect of its AML/CTF controls environment or the risk of the Austrac proceeding, and maintains that it at all times complied with its continuous disclosure obligations."