Bank of America Fined $1.2 Billion for Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations
The penalty is the third-largest ever imposed by the Treasury Department.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday it has fined Bank of America $1.2 billion for alleged violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. This penalty represents the third-largest fine in the department's history.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that failures by large banks to uphold their anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations pose significant risks to the entire U.S. financial system. "Today’s actions send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law," Bessent said in a statement.
In addition to the $1.2 billion penalty, Bank of America reached an $11.6 million settlement with the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for apparent violations of sanctions programs related to Iran, Russia, narcotics, and global terrorism. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed the $1.2 billion penalty for the bank's failure to mitigate and report national security risks, including Chinese money laundering networks and illicit finance activities along the U.S. southwest border.
The $1.2 billion fine includes $750 million designated for the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, marking the largest fine ever issued by that federal bank regulatory agency. Bank of America has acknowledged willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which mandates that banks assist the government in detecting and preventing money laundering.
This latest action follows two substantial penalties previously levied by the Treasury Department. In 2023, Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to a settlement of approximately $4 billion, and the following year, TD Bank paid about $3 billion. Both of these significant settlements were part of the Biden administration's efforts to combat money laundering and ensure compliance within the evolving virtual currency industry. Notably, Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao was later sentenced to four months in prison for his role in allowing criminals to use the platform for illicit financial activities.