Bank of America fined $1.2bn for missing money laundering red flags
The bank failed to report over $5bn in suspicious activity, with about $1bn linked to Chinese money laundering and national security risks.
Bank of America got a $1.2bn fine from the US Treasury Department. The bank failed to detect and report money laundering and other illegal activity.
The bank did not flag over $5bn in suspicious transactions to the government. About $1bn posed national security and illegal finance risks.
Treasury officials found failures in transactions. Some possibly involved Chinese money laundering networks.
Others involved trade-based laundering schemes linked to the southwest border. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the bank's failures put the entire US financial system at risk from illegal finance.
The Treasury said the bank relied too much on outside inquiries from law enforcement and other banks. It should have used its own internal checks.
The bank said it already spent a lot to fix the problems. It will take a $1.2bn charge in its quarterly results that cannot be deducted from taxes.
- $1.2bn
- Fine amount
- Over $5bn
- Unreported suspicious transactions
- $1bn
- Transactions with national security risk
- Third-largest fine ever imposed
- Treasury Department record rank
Why it mattersThe fine is the third-largest the Treasury Department has ever imposed. It signals stronger enforcement of anti-money laundering rules that protect financial systems worldwide.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet, but the case highlights how major global banks can fail to prevent money laundering, affecting trust in international finance that Australian businesses and investors rely on.
Corroborated byaljazeera.com
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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