Calls grow for new banking royal commission amid $8 billion scam losses

Calls grow for new banking royal commission amid billion scam losses

As the deception losses in Australia reach $ 8 billion, Dr. Kim Sawyer, Dr Kim Sawyer, to keep banks responsible and start a new royal commission.

When a government makes a mistake, who pays the mistake, the government or the victims? Obviously, the answer depends on which government is in power and who the victims are. Recent history shows who is in power and who can produce political capital. Consider some examples.

. Albanian The government admitted that taxpayers will finance someone else soon 549 million dollars To compensate for victims Robodebt The plan is to bring the total cost of forgiven debts and compensation from class actions to $ 2.4 billion. Robodebt was matched with the Australian Tax Office in 2015 (Ato) Data with the Human Services Department (DHS) data.

DHS received ATO information and compared it to what welfare buyers have announced to DHS. When an average amount was exceeded two weeks, when a recipient has exceeded the income that he had the right to receive before the benefit was reduced, the recipient was paid over, a flag was collected and steps were taken to recover the debt.

Robodebt started in 2016 and continued for four years. In 2019, two judicial reviews convinced by the Federal Court Morrison The government is that the average of the receiving income could not constitute the debts. There was a systemic failure. The government plan was scrapped, $ 746 million debtor was paid back to 381,000 people and wrote $ 1.75 billion debts.

After the Albanian government was elected in May 2022, the plan established a royal commission that targeted and made them feel guilty, that the plan was illegal and unfair.

It was like robodebt British post office scandal. A systemic failure was recognized too late, and then overlapped by shifting the obligations to the victims. The victims were able to get compensation by objection to the media and courts. In case of British post office, it was 2024 ITV documentary Mr. Bates and against the post office This has changed in favor of the sub -postmaster. It was a change of government that helped. Political capital of the British Labor Party was issued.

And the same for Robodebt. He helped victims of welfare with the change of the government. Labor to political capital. The Albanian government promised a royal commission for the 2022 election.

Ironically, Robodebt was not the only plan in which welfare buyers were illegally targeted for the debt recovery. When the wage cycles do not agree with the welfare income, assumptions about daily gains have been operating since the 1990s. The program was accepted illegally by Commonwealth Ombudsman in 2023. The Ministry of Social Security reviews 160,000 debt with an average of $ 330. The government announced a 300 million dollar compensation package.

Systemic failure is common and requires the intervention of the government.

Obviously, this logic does not apply to fraud, or it seems. On February 6, 2020, Delia RickardAustralian Communication Consumer Action Net Vice President (Peer) He wrote to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASICThe team examines Epayments coderecommend The Claimer’s confirmation The system that will be compulsory in the UK from March 2020.

The creditor confirmation Reduced fraud 81% in the Netherlands and 35% in the UK. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) The approval of the creditor in 2020 and again in 2022, but the consecutive governments did not listen to the Australian Banking Association (postponed (Aba) and CEO, Anna Blightagainst creditor approval.

The creditor confirmation is currently released at a cost of 100 million dollars, a part of the United Bank profit is more than $ 40 billion and more than $ 200 billion. Ads everywhere, but nobody accepts that it can be done five years ago.

Since 2022, ASIC has reported deception losses of $ 7.9 billion in Australia. 30% of the scammers were not reported, real losses were higher. In 2023, Fraud losses $ 34 per capita in the UK, $ 45 per person in the US and Australia, $ 100 per capita; Some estimates are as high as $ 200 per person.

Australia was a target. One reason for this was the inability to apply the creditor approval. The government made a mistake, but no one is taken into account. The government has constantly opposed reimbursement or any repayment formula. Refund is at the discretion of banks who can discriminate as they wish.

England banks since 2019 Refund Payment Ramous Victims Average 67%voluntarily 67%, long before a compulsory repayment plan was introduced in October 2024. However, not in Australia, where the victims of great fraud is not repaired.

The money stolen by fraudsters is usually laundered through mule accounts in Australian banks. . Black Money Running Law 2006 Austria to prosecute banks because the money does not watch money laundering. Australian Nations Bank in 2018 (Cba) 700 million dollars For serious violations of anti -money laundering laws, as it does not effectively monitor more than 50,000 transactions.

In 2020, Westpac fined 1.3 billion dollars To violate the laws, accepting that more than 19.6 million international transfers over $ 11 billion.

In both cases, there was no proof of money laundering. Nevertheless, most of the fraud, which is proof of money laundering, will not prosecute Austrac banks and prosecute the police banks. Ramish victims pay the price of money laundering.

I wrote to the new assistant counting in May Daniel MulinoTo reveal the situation that banks should be responsible for mule accounts and money laundering. I offered a refund fund that could be financed by banks’ Austria prosecution so that they do not watch money laundering. Mulino did not respond because the previous assistant treasurer did not.

The media has published many stories about scam victims without asking the basic questions. Why are banks not prosecution for money laundering when there is proof of the flow? Why did the government listened to the Australian Banking Association, not the Accc? Why are not the victims who make great deception losses with the right to repayment? Why is the media quiet?

. Banking Royal Commission Regarding many issues reported in 2019, others:

HE Anz 500,000 housing loans for more than ten years of wrong interest rate to customers;
CBA rewarded the brokers for encouraging customers to enter larger home loans and to longer conditions than necessary;
Until 15 percent of all approved home loans, NAB does not meet the standard criteria for valuation, serviceability and document validation; And
O Westpac, ST George Bank– Melbourne Bank And Priest de facto or potential abuse and is carried out below the community standards and expectations related to home loans and credit cards.

There was a systemic failure, but ABA opposed the Royal Commission.

Considering what happened in frauds, there must be another banking royal commission. The scale of scam losses is much more than the previous losses. However, they will oppose another, just as the acquired interests oppose the royal commission.

Previously, there is no political capital to be issued by the great parties. Apart from a few exceptions, politicians decided that banks were too big to fail; they will be protected at any cost; And the highest priority of bank shareholders and institutions. The government threw the victims under the bus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6-rdl-myqq

Dr Kim Sawyer, School of Historical and Philosophical Research At the University of Melbourne.

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