Category: Event
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Compliance Program Gap: What HSBC’s $35 Million Penalty Reveals
By Viktor Ha | July 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog TL;DR: On 18 June 2026, the Federal Court ordered HSBC Bank Australia to pay a $35 million penalty after the bank admitted to systemic failures in protecting customers from scams. The case was brought under the ePayments Code, not the AML/CTF Act, but the underlying failure… Read more
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AML Compliance Culture Failure: Tabcorp and AUSTRAC’s Return
By Viktor Ha | June 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog The Quote That Defines an AML Compliance Culture Failure In March 2017, AUSTRAC CEO Paul Jevtovic addressed the media after the Federal Court ordered Tabcorp to pay a $45 million civil penalty for 108 contraventions of the AML/CTF Act over five years. His words were precise:… Read more
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NSW Solicitor Fraud Case: What It Reveals About Tranche 2 and Money Laundering Risk
TL;DR NSW Police have charged a solicitor and law firm principal over an alleged role in a multi-million fraud and money laundering syndicate. Police allege he used his position in the legal sector to help the group acquire mortgaged properties worth more than $25 million and launder millions of dollars. The case matters because it… Read more
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The Human Head Problem: What Wynn’s $130M Forfeiture Reveals About Casino AML and Beneficial Ownership
By Viktor Ha | April 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog TL;DR: In September 2024, Wynn Las Vegas forfeited $130 million — the largest criminal forfeiture by a US casino — after admitting it conspired with unlicensed money transmitters and knowingly allowed proxy gambling schemes designed to defeat AML controls. The core failure wasn’t a technology gap… Read more
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Two Regulators, One Problem, Opposite Answers: FinCEN vs AUSTRAC
By Viktor Ha | April 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog TL;DR: On 7 April 2026, FinCEN proposed sweeping reforms to US AML programs — less paperwork, more flexibility, higher threshold for enforcement action. Meanwhile, AUSTRAC has spent the past six months ordering compulsory audits, running sector-wide enforcement campaigns, and putting entire industries on notice. Both regulators… Read more
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When the Audit Passes and the Problem Doesn’t: The Airwallex AUSTRAC Story
By Viktor Ha | April 2026 | AML-CAMS Blog Airwallex had already been audited. AUSTRAC looked at their program in 2024. An independent external reviewer followed up in 2025 and signed off — controls in place, systems adequate, no major concerns. Then, on 22 January 2026, AUSTRAC ordered another external audit. This time under section… Read more
