(Dec 26): Japan’s financial regulator ordered AEON Bank Ltd to fix its anti-money laundering system, saying it failed to detect and report suspicious activities by clients.

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) said on Thursday that the bank’s management failed to rectify deficiencies, despite repeated calls by the regulator to do so. AEON Bank didn’t properly screen at least 14,639 transactions in 2023 and 2024, it said in a statement. 

The firm, which has until Jan 31 to submit an improvement plan, said it will make utmost efforts to improve its anti-money laundering measures. The bank is part of the retail giant AEON Co, and has more than 180 branches across the country.   

The FSA has been examining financial institutions’ anti-money laundering practices, following a global watchdog’s assessment of the country in 2021. The Financial Action Task Force said then that Japan needs to do more to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing, even though the country has shown a good understanding of the associated risks.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee