AMLC, IACAT working on leads in Aussie bank's child porn links

MANILA -- Local government agencies are working with their foreign counterparts amid reports that Australian bank Westpac is being investigated by Australian authorities for failure to spot customers using its international money transfer service for transactions with child pornographers, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Thursday.

"The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) is coordinating with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and has been coordinating with its Australian counterpart AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) to investigate further," Guevarra said in a statement.

He added that the case will be referred to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) once sufficient evidence is gathered.

"AMLC has been coordinating directly with its counterpart Austrac (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre). It seems that in an entrapment operation last October, it was found out that an Australian national was involved in online sexual exploitation of Filipino children. In the ensuing coordination between the Philippine and Australian police, it was discovered that Westpac was also involved. I've been informed that it was Austrac who actually uncovered Westpac's involvement." Guevarra said.

In October, authorities apprehended a 45-year-old woman in Rizal for live-streaming her 12-year old daughter in compromising poses in exchange for cash she received through money transfer.

Earlier this month, Westpac chief executive officer (CEO) Brian Hartzer stepped down after Australian regulators said the company failed to report more than millions of transnational fund transactions and failed to conduct due diligence on transactions in Southeast Asian countries that have known financial indicators relating to potential child exploitation.

Some of the transactions, reports said, concerned the bank's digital payments service LitePay which allowed customers to move small amounts to payees outside Australia.

Further investigation showed at least one Westpac customer opened an account after he was already found liable for child exploitation offenses. (PNA)

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https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1087364
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