Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre orders external audit of Mercedes Benz Financial Services Australia over AML/CTF compliance concerns

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has ordered Mercedes Benz Financial Services Australia to appoint an external auditor after raising concerns about the financier’s compliance with the AML/CTF Act. AUSTRAC’s concerns included treating most customers as low risk, insufficient systems to identify and escalate suspicious matters, and inadequate transaction monitoring. The order sits within a broader AUSTRAC campaign targeting non-bank lenders and financiers, where AUSTRAC has flagged sector-wide non-reporting and under-reporting and weaknesses in identifying and managing high-risk customers and monitoring transactions. AUSTRAC reported that almost 90% of non-bank lenders and financiers did not submit a single suspicious matter report in 2024, two businesses accounted for around half of suspicious matter reports across the sector, and 89% of businesses stated they had no high-risk customers. AUSTRAC expects the audit to support Mercedes Benz in meeting its compliance obligations and to inform whether further regulatory action is required. It will also monitor report submissions to assess how the wider sector responds to the issues raised.