Australian lender Westpac has announced a series of measures in response to the allegations raised by the local watchdog.

The bank decided to shut down its international funds transfer platform LitePay as well as step up screening procedures to combat money laundering and other financial crime.

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The Response Plan also constitutes mitigating the human impact of financial crime.

Last week, Australia’s anti money-laundering and terrorism financing regulator AUSTRAC filed a civil lawsuit against Westpac for breaching AML laws.

The regulator claimed that Westpac committed more than 23 million violations of anti-money laundering laws.

The allegations, if proved, may draw penalties in billions.

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Announcing the new measures, Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted said: “We understand the gravity of the issues presented by AUSTRAC and reiterate our deep sorrow for failings by Westpac.

“We are determined to urgently fix these issues and lift our standards to ensure our anti-money laundering and other financial crime processes are industry leading.

“As a major bank we play a critical role in helping law enforcement agencies prevent criminals from carrying out illegal activity.”

Maxsted also highlighted that Westpac has completed several initiatives in the last two years to bolster its financial crime monitoring controls.

It includes integrating multiple financial crime systems into a single technology system and restructuring its risk and financial crime monitoring team with external appointments.

The company also increased the number of resources for financial crime to nearly 750 people.