The U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it is imposing $1.2 billion in fines on Bank of America for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The penalty represents the third-largest fine in Treasury Department history.
Bank of America, the nation's second-largest bank, failed to "mitigate and report priority national security risks, including Chinese Money Laundering Networks and illicit finance along the southwest border," according to the Treasury Department's announcement.
The bank admitted to willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to timely report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions, authorities said.
The $1.2 billion total comprises multiple components. The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed the primary penalty against the bank for its failure to meet anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) imposed a $750 million civil money penalty, which the Treasury noted is the largest penalty in OCC history and counts toward the total $1.2 billion fine.
Separately, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control reached an $11.6 million settlement with Bank of America for apparent violations of numerous sanctions programs, including those related to Iran, Russia, narcotics, and global terrorism.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement: "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. Today's actions send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law."
The violations involved the bank's failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering compliance program and its inadequate reporting of transactions linked to national security concerns. The bank's compliance shortcomings persisted over an extended period, according to regulatory findings.