Bank of America to Pay $1.21 Billion in Penalties

Bank of America will pay $1.21 billion in penalties to settle violations of sanctions laws and anti-money laundering regulations. The settlement includes a $750 million civil penalty for maintaining a deficient and ineffective compliance program and an $11.6 million charge for violating sanctions related to global terrorism, narcotics, Iran, and Russia.

The bank admitted to willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Specifically, the institution failed to implement an adequate anti-money laundering program, neglected to file suspicious activity reports, and failed to conduct necessary due diligence for foreign financial institution correspondent accounts.

The United States Department of the Treasury noted that the bank failed to report priority national security risks, including transactions linked to Chinese money laundering networks. The Treasury stated the fine is the third-largest in its history, while the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency noted it is the largest penalty the agency has ever imposed.