TD Bank has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and agreed to a $3.1 billion settlement, marking the largest financial penalty for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act in U.S. history.
TD Bank has pleaded guilty to federal money laundering charges and agreed to pay over $3.1 billion in fines, marking a historic settlement in the U.S. financial sector. The penalties come after the bank admitted to failing to monitor trillions of dollars in transactions, enabling drug traffickers and other criminals to launder money through the institution. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) imposed the fines, making this the largest financial penalty against a bank for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
TD Bank fined $3 billion for enabling drug cartel money laundering, the largest penalty of its kind in U.S. history. pic.twitter.com/YaNfKGZSW9
— TFTC (@TFTC21) October 10, 2024
According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, TD Bank allowed drug cartels, terrorist organizations, and human traffickers to exploit the bank's weak anti-money laundering (AML) controls. “By making its services convenient for criminals, it became one,” Garland said during a press conference. Federal prosecutors highlighted that TD Bank employees were aware of the illegal activities, with some even accepting bribes to overlook suspicious transactions.
Between 2014 and 2023, TD Bank processed unmonitored transactions totaling approximately $18.3 trillion. Investigations revealed that the bank had long-term systemic deficiencies in its AML policies, leading to the facilitation of money laundering operations. These deficiencies allowed three major money laundering networks to move over $670 million through TD Bank accounts.
The bank also faced additional charges for failing to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires financial institutions to report suspicious activity. FinCEN’s investigation uncovered failures in TD Bank’s oversight, particularly in handling transactions that were indicative of human trafficking. As a result, the bank failed to report these transactions to regulators in a timely manner.
TD Bank has since admitted to its compliance failures and committed to implementing a stronger corporate compliance program. In a statement, TD Bank CEO Bharat Masrani apologized, acknowledging that the “failures took place on my watch as CEO” and vowing to make the necessary changes to prevent future violations.
