US Treasury fines Bank of America $1.2 billion over anti-money laundering failures

The US Treasury Department has imposed over $1.2 billion in penalties on Bank of America for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.

• FinCEN assessed a $1.2 billion penalty, the third-largest in its history, over the bank's failure to report over $5 billion in suspicious transactions.
• The OCC imposed a $750 million fine, its largest ever, for a deficient anti-money laundering compliance program.
• OFAC reached an $11.6 million settlement covering 475 apparent violations of sanctions programs on Iran, Russia, narcotics and terrorism.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the failures exposed the entire US financial system to illicit finance risks.
• Bank of America admitted to willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain a compliant anti-money laundering program.
• US officials announced the penalties less than 24 hours before Bank of America's quarterly earnings report.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action sends a clear message that even the largest financial institutions are not above the law.
• The Treasury said some reported transactions raised national security concerns, including signs of Chinese money-laundering networks and illicit financing near the southwestern border.