WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Treasury Department has announced a $1.2 billion penalty against Bank of America over serious failures in its anti-money laundering controls and compliance with U.S. sanctions laws.
According to the Treasury Department, the financial institution failed to adequately address and report suspicious financial activities that raised national security concerns, including alleged links to Chinese money laundering networks and illicit financial transactions along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action demonstrates that major financial institutions must comply with federal laws designed to protect the American financial system from criminal activity and illicit financing.
The penalty, assessed through the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, ranks among the largest financial penalties in the department’s history.
As part of the broader enforcement action, $750 million will go to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, marking the largest penalty ever imposed by that federal banking regulator. Bank of America also agreed to an additional $11.6 million settlement with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control over apparent violations involving multiple sanctions programs, including those concerning Iran, Russia, narcotics trafficking, and international terrorism.
The Treasury Department said Bank of America acknowledged willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, a federal law requiring financial institutions to help authorities detect and prevent money laundering.
Authorities also alleged that the bank failed to respond adequately to warning signs involving suspicious customers and transactions. According to the report, more than $5 billion in suspicious activity went unreported.
Bank of America said it had worked with regulators to resolve the matters connected to earlier regulatory findings and investigations. The bank emphasized that it has invested billions of dollars in compliance technology and dedicated thousands of employees to combating financial crime.
The company also stated that it remains committed to completing the corrective measures required by regulators and continuing to assist federal and local law enforcement investigations.
The financial consequences have extended beyond the penalty itself. Bank of America reported third-quarter profits of $6.9 billion, approximately 17 percent lower than a year earlier, with the $1.2 billion charge weighing on its results. Its shares also declined following the announcement, according to the supplied report.
The penalty follows previous major enforcement actions against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and Canada-based TD Bank, both of which faced multibillion-dollar penalties over financial compliance failures.
The case has renewed debate over whether financial penalties are sufficient to deter misconduct at large banking institutions, with some regulatory advocates calling for greater individual accountability among executives and supervisors.
Bank of America says it is continuing to address regulators’ concerns, while the Treasury Department’s action underscores the importance of effective safeguards against money laundering and violations of international sanctions.
Reporting for SNEWS TV by Noko David.
