US Treasury fines Bank of America $1.2 billion for sanctions breaches

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 22:02 · Archive

The US Treasury Department has imposed $1.2 billion in fines on Bank of America for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The penalty is the third-largest ever issued by the Treasury Department, behind a roughly $4 billion settlement with cryptocurrency exchange Binance in 2023 and an approximately $3 billion settlement with Canada-based TD Bank the following year.

The Treasury said its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network assessed the penalty for Bank of America's 'failure to mitigate and report priority national security risks, including Chinese Money Laundering Networks and illicit finance along the southwest border'. Bank of America 'admits that it willfully violated' the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act, which requires banks to help the government detect and prevent money laundering. The penalty includes $750 million that will go to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the largest fine ever imposed by that federal bank regulatory agency.

Bank of America also reached an $11.6 million settlement with the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control over 'apparent violations of numerous sanctions programs, including on Iran, Russia, narcotics, and global terrorism'. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that when a bank of this size fails to meet its obligations, 'the consequences extend far beyond its own walls, exposing the entire U.S. financial system to significant illicit finance risks'.

How it is being reported

• US hits Bank of America with $1.2 billion fine, saying it violated money laundering, sanctions lawsThe U.S. Treasury Department says it’s imposing $1.2 billion in fines on Bank of America for allegedly violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.Clickorlando · 13 Oct, 21:15
• US hits Bank of America with $1.2 billion fine, saying it violated money laundering, sanctions lawsThe U.S. Treasury Department says it’s imposing $1.2 billion in fines on Bank of America for allegedly violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.News4Jax · 13 Oct, 21:15

In this story: Bank of America · US Treasury Department · Office of the Comptroller of the Currency · Office of Foreign Assets Control

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem