Home / Crime and Justice / Bank Fined $1.8B for Ignoring Suspicious Transactions
Bank Fined $1.8B for Ignoring Suspicious Transactions
14 Oct
Summary
- Bank of America was fined $1.8 billion for overlooked suspicious transactions.
- Transactions involved money laundering and bypassed compliance checks.
- Regulators warned the bank two years ago about similar issues.
Federal regulators imposed a substantial $1.8 billion fine on Bank of America due to the bank's failure to adequately monitor suspicious financial transactions. These transactions, which involved money laundering and other illicit activities, flowed between the United States and countries including Russia, Belarus, and Mexico.
The bank's lax oversight occurred even after securities regulators had previously admonished it two years earlier for suspected money laundering. Despite these warnings, a significant volume of suspicious transactions continued unchecked as part of trillions of dollars in activity that went unmonitored.
Regulators cited systemic compliance gaps, noting Bank of America's failure to even initiate cursory investigations into concerning activities. The bank regularly neglected to file required "suspicious activity reports" with federal authorities, overlooking significant risks, including $600 million in transactions solely related to salvaged vehicles. In many cases, the bank took over six months to file these essential reports, if they filed them at all.
