Major Australian banks are working with the country’s financial-crimes watchdog to assess the scale of an alleged mortgage fraud scheme that may extend well beyond an earlier A$1 billion estimate, the Australian Financial Review reported.

A report commissioned by Commonwealth Bank and prepared by credit bureau Equifax found that some customers who obtained home loans using fraudulent documents, including documents generated with artificial intelligence, had also borrowed from other lenders. According to the newspaper, loans held with other banks amount to at least another A$1 billion, citing two people briefed on the internal investigation.

Commonwealth Bank has referred two mortgage brokers and several accountants to police as part of its internal investigation, according to the AFR. The bank is also working with authorities and met with New South Wales police financial-crimes detectives last week.

The report said it was not yet clear whether those loans at other institutions were also obtained with falsified paperwork, but most were linked to Westpac, ANZ, National Australia Bank, Macquarie and their sub-brands.

Speaking at the Australian Financial Review Banking Summit on Monday, Australia’s assistant treasurer Dan Mulino told attendees that the government was viewing the widening scandal with an eye on possible changes to the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) regime, according to Bloomberg. 

“I suspect that we are not at the bleeding edge,” Mulino said in the Bloomberg report, referring to AML laws. When it comes to fraudulent mortgages, “perhaps more is needed”, he said. 

Read more at the Australian Financial Review 

Read more at Bloomberg