(Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AX:CBA) on Wednesday said the Federal Court had approved a settlement agreement to civil proceedings related to money laundering charges, closing a chapter that has cost the bank A$700 million ($518 million) in penalties.
The proceedings were initiated by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre in August 2017, and alleged breaches of money laundering and terror financing laws on 53,750 occasions, which Australia's biggest bank then admitted to.
The penalty was the biggest in Australian corporate history and was almost double the amount CBA had set aside, signaling the tougher regulatory framework Australian banks face following revelations of widespread misconduct.
The bank will book a A$700 million provision in its fiscal 2018 results, to be released in August, it said in a statement.
Shares of the bank were up 2 percent in a positive market (AXJO).
