Bank of America fined $1.2bn over money laundering failures

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 21:38 · Archive

Bank of America has been fined $1.2 billion for failing to report $5 billion in suspicious transactions.

Bank of America has been fined $1.2 billion by federal regulators for failing to report $5 billion in suspicious transactions and for longstanding failures in its anti-money-laundering programme. More than $1 billion of the unreported activity involved national security risks, including Chinese money-laundering networks and activity linked to the southwest border, according to the Treasury.

The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which enforces anti-money-laundering rules, assessed the penalty, said to be the third-largest in Treasury history. Bank of America also faced an $11.6 million settlement over sanctions violations. The bank admitted to willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain a compliant anti-money-laundering programme, conduct required due diligence on foreign correspondent accounts and file suspicious activity reports.

Bank of America said in a statement that it has invested billions in compliance and is 'far along' in remediation efforts. The penalties will result in a $1.2 billion non-tax-deductible charge in third-quarter results, reducing net income by about 17 cents per share. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action sends 'a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law'.

How it is being reported

• Bank of America hit with $1.2B fine for money laundering, sanctions violationsThe fines on America’s second-biggest bank amount to the third-largest in the department’s history.New York Post · 13 Oct, 21:47
• Bank of America hit with more than $1.2 billion in penalties over money-laundering violationsCNBC · 13 Oct, 21:23
• Bank of America fined $1.2bn over money laundering failuresUS bank failed to flag $5bn in suspicious transactions linked to suspected illicit finance from China and southern US borderFinancial Times · 13 Oct, 21:00

In this story: Bank of America · Financial Crimes Enforcement Network · Treasury · China · United States

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