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TD Bank Fined $3 Billion, Admits to Money Laundering Failures Spanning 2018-2024

Oct 14, 2024, 02:18 AM

TD Bank has agreed to pay over $3 billion in penalties after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering, making it the largest bank in U.S. history to admit to such charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Between 2018 and 2024, the bank's automated anti-money laundering system failed to monitor 92% of transactions, totaling $18.3 trillion, despite multiple warnings and "willful ignorance at senior levels." TD Bank admitted to facilitating money laundering activities tied to drug cartels, including processing over $1 billion in suspicious crypto transactions from high-risk jurisdictions like Colombia without proper anti-money laundering controls. One individual bribed TD Bank employees with $57,000 in gift cards to enable the deposit and transfer of $470 million from fentanyl and other drug sales. The bank also allowed a fake HVAC company to make millions in human trafficking payments via Zelle, ATM, and ACH. Despite profiting an estimated $7 billion from these operations, no bank executives have been charged or are facing jail time.