Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer stepped down from the helm of Australia’s second-largest retailer a week after regulator AUSTRAC launched legal action for allowing millions of payments in breach of anti-money laundering laws
SYDNEY - The chief executive of Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp stepped down on Tuesday over a money laundering scandal involving child exploitation, just a day after he told staff it was “not a major issue” and that he intended to stay on.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison was among those calling for the bank’s board to consider the future of its executives, but chairman Lindsay Maxsted had said over the weekend that a change at the top would be destabilizing for the bank. Hartzer had told senior staff in a meeting on Monday that the crisis was “not an Enron or Lehman Brothers”, according to The Australian newspaper, referring to the two famous corporate collapses.
The scandal is likely to be front and center at Westpac’s annual general meeting, scheduled for Dec. 12., although Hartzer’s exit might dampen some of the fireworks. Maxsted said any breaches were not made “through deliberate neglect” as he accepted that some customers may leave the bank.
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