The U.S. Treasury announced more than $1.21 billion in penalties against Bank of America, the nation’s second-largest bank, on Oct. 13 for violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.
The Treasury said the penalty, the third-largest in its history, stemmed from the bank's failure to timely report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions, including more than $1 billion involving national security and other priority illicit-finance risks. The department alleged that some transactions were "indicative of Chinese Money Laundering Networks, fraud, and potential trade-based money laundering with a substantial nexus to the southwest border."
It added that Bank of America "prioritized its revenues" when creating compliance programs,
relying on outside inquiries, such as from law enforcement and other financial institutions, to identify suspicious activity.
A consent order published by the Treasury alleges the conduct tied to the penalty occurred from 2018 through 2025.
The fine includes a $750 million penalty levied by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, stemming from violations of the Bank Secrecy Act that were raised in a 2024 cease-and-desist order. It is the largest fine the watchdog has ever imposed.
The bank also paid an $11.6 million fine to the Office of Foreign Assets Control for 475 apparent violations of various sanctions programs. Treasury said the violations occurred when Bank of America mistakenly allowed over $14 million of payments to sanctioned individuals and banks connected to "Russia, Belarus, Iran, Burma, Somalia, narcotics, and global terrorism."
"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 U.S. financial system to significant illicit finance risks," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the announcement. "Today’s actions send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law."
Bank of America admitted that it willfully violated anti-money laundering laws as part of its resolution with Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The consent order requires the bank to hire an independent third party to investigate and report any previously undetected suspicious activity.
"Financial crime compliance is serious, and we are responsible for getting it right," a Bank of America spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement. "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."
The fine comes days after American Express was hit with a $350 million penalty over similar anti-money laundering shortcomings.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bank of America hit with $1.2B penalty over anti-money laundering failures
