The US Treasury Department has imposed over $1.21 billion in penalties against Bank of America for violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. This penalty is noted as the third-largest in the department's history. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, "When a bank of this size fails to meet its anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations, the consequences extend far beyond its own walls, exposing the entire US financial system to significant illicit finance risks." He emphasized that these actions demonstrate that large financial institutions are not exempt from legal accountability.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $1.2 billion penalty due to the bank's failure to address and report on significant national security risks, including issues related to Chinese Money Laundering Networks and illicit finance along the US-Mexico border. The identified failures included deficiencies in the bank's processes for identifying and reporting suspicious transactions and conducting customer due diligence. FinCEN noted that the bank had effectively outsourced a significant portion of its detection and reporting obligations to third parties.
According to the Treasury Department, Bank of America did not report over $5 billion in suspicious transactions to FinCEN in a timely manner. Additionally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) imposed a $750 million fine, marking the largest penalty in its history, for deficiencies in the bank's anti-money laundering compliance program. The $1.2 billion penalty from FinCEN includes credit for the OCC fine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also announced an $11.6 million settlement agreement related to apparent violations of various sanctions programs, including those concerning Iran, Russia, narcotics, and global terrorism. Bank of America agreed to settle 475 apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs, which includes commitments to enhance compliance through training, testing, audits, and future cooperation with OFAC.
The Treasury Department's statement highlighted the importance of compliance with US anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements. In response, Bank of America stated, "Financial crime compliance is serious, and we are responsible for getting it right. We have invested billions of dollars in technology and dedicated thousands of employees to combat financial crime, and our team is far along with and committed to completing the work required to address the issues raised by our regulators."