Sydney

COMMONWEALTH Bank of Australia, the nation's largest lender, has been sued by the government's financial crime agency over 53,700 alleged breaches of money laundering and terrorism financing laws.

The civil case relates to Commonwealth Bank's automated cash deposit machines, which allow anonymous deposits to recipient accounts that can then be funnelled offshore or to other domestic accounts, Austrac said in documents lodged with the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday. The cash deposit machines were used by drug rings to move the proceeds of crime, the agency said.