BANK OF AMERICA FINED OVER $1.2BN FOR MONEY-LAUNDERING LAPSES

The US Treasury Department has imposed penalties exceeding $1.2 billion on Bank of America over what it describes as failures to comply with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, according to a Treasury announcement. Bank of America has admitted to wilfully violating Bank Secrecy Act regulations, Treasury said, including failing to report more than $5 billion in transactions it deemed suspicious within required timeframes. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, part of Treasury, imposed a civil money penalty of $750 million against the bank, which it says is a record figure and forms part of the overall $1.2 billion total. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which oversees anti-money laundering enforcement, said the combined penalty ranks as the third-largest in the department's history. A separate settlement of $11.6 million was announced over sanctions violations.

According to Treasury, more than $1 billion of the unreported activity involved matters it classed as national security or high-priority risks, including transactions linked to Chinese money-laundering networks and activity connected to the US southwest border. Bank of America is described as the second-largest bank in the United States. The penalties were announced less than a day before the bank was due to report its quarterly earnings.

Treasury has not set out further enforcement steps beyond the announced penalties and settlement. Bank of America was scheduled to publish its quarterly results on Wednesday morning, immediately after the fine was disclosed. No additional details on remedial measures or oversight arrangements were included in Treasury's statement.