AML/CTF compliance is unlike consumer protection: it is not for the direct benefit of your customer.

It is more like tax: compliance is mandatory. It has anti-crime, anti-terrorist and national security objects.

As well as dealing with crimes by individuals the law prohibits dealings with sanctioned countries.

We do not know precisely the results that our intelligence agencies achieve from the information that is collected but Austrac publishes case studies each year.

The USA is more transparent, particularly in the penalties it imposes.

In 2012 Standard Chartered agreed to pay a fine of $327m, on top of an earlier $340m penalty and HSBC paid $1.9 billion.

Both of the banks signed statements acknowledging they had facilitated illicit financial transfers on behalf of Iran, Sudan, Myanmar and Libya. HSBC also dealt with with Cuba and with Mexican and Colombian drug cartels: BBC News.

Last week Standard Chartered agreed to pay another $300m for failing to improve its money laundering controls.

The British bank has also been banned from accepting new US dollar clearing accounts without New York State’s approval.

The penalty comes after the bank failed to fix problems identified in 2012.

In July 2014 French bank BNP Paribas agreed to pay $8.9bn to settle charges that for years it knowingly violated US sanctions on Iran and Sudan: BBC News.

Other European banks that have been fined in the USA include ING, Credit Suisse and Barclays.

Background: How would a breach of sanctions be dealt with in Australia?