Commonwealth Bank of Australia cleared the last hurdle to put behind a money-laundering scandal. The move will cause a considerable hit against the beleaguered Aussie bank's full-year profits.
Sydney-based CBA is poised to pony up A$700 million ($516.6 million) to settle a civil probe into money laundering and terrorism financing charges. Late on Wednesday, a court ruling paved the way for the settlement, which will hit full-year results due August 8, the bank said in a statement.
The settlement is the latest in a series of scandals surrounding Australia's big-four banks. CBA notched up the largest ever corporate fine for failing to monitor big deposits, a loophole which was exploited by drug cartels to rinse funds.
Share Price Rallied
The settlement comes nearly one year after the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre initiated proceedings against CBA.
The federal court's green light allows CBA to begin putting the scandal, which cost ex-CEO Ian Narev his job, behind, first by taking the full-year hit. CBA bossMatt Comyn, who replaced Narev in April, said earlier this month that the agreement brought more certainty to one of the most significant issues the bank had faced. CBA's share price rallied almost 3 percent on the back of the news.
