SKY News journo wins business reporting award

SKY News Business Reporter Leo Shanahan has been recognised at the National Press Club of Australia’s Excellence in Financial Journalism Awards.

He won the Global and Economic Reporting category for his coverage of the Commonwealth Bank international transaction monitoring investigation.

Shanahan is a business reporter for SKY News Business and SKY News Live, reporting nightly for business program Ticky.

The national awards recognise journalists who have contributed the best work in financial journalism and rewards excellence for journalistic endeavour and professionalism.

In a SKY News exclusive, Leo Shanahan obtained a confidential internal CBA report authored by the bank’s leading financial crime managers in February 2017. After working forensically through the report, the exclusive investigation for SKY News Business, which also appeared on the front page of The Australian, was the most significant break in the AUSTRAC scandal that has engulfed the CBA.

The story forced the CBA to release a statement to the ASX which did not deny the contents of the SKY News Business report. The contents of the report were also raised by the special House of Representatives Committee during its questioning of the CBA chief executive Ian Narev.

The exclusive story led SKY News bulletins throughout the day as Leo provided Live updates and analysis, and was subsequently reported on by financial media both locally and internationally.