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The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed penalties exceeding $1.21 billion on Bank of America, the nation's second-largest bank, for breaching anti-money-laundering and sanctions laws. According to the department, the case ranks as the third-largest penalty in Treasury's history and the largest ever issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) found that the bank did not adequately address priority illicit financing risks tied to national security and failed to file suspicious activity reports on time. More than $5 billion in transactions were reported late, including over $1 billion linked to higher-priority risks. The activity involved suspected China-based money-laundering networks, fraud, and possible trade-based laundering connected to the U.S. southwest border. The OCC separately cited compliance program weaknesses and said the bank's monitoring system could not properly screen trillions of dollars in transactions, leaving billions more covered by delayed filings.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also reached an $11.6 million settlement over violations of multiple sanctions programs, including those involving Iran, Russia, drug trafficking and global terrorism. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said failures by a bank of this size expose the entire U.S. financial system to serious illicit financing risks, adding: "Today's actions send a clear message that even the largest financial institutions are not above the law."

Key Takeaways

• Bank of America was fined more than $1.21 billion for anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations, the largest OCC penalty to date.
• FinCEN said over $5 billion in suspicious transactions were reported late, with more than $1 billion tied to national security and other priority risks.
• OFAC reached a separate $11.6 million settlement covering breaches of sanctions programs involving Iran, Russia, drug trafficking and terrorism.