Ontario court certifies class-action suit against TD Bank regarding money laundering

An Ontario court has approved a class-action lawsuit against TD Bank and several of its senior executives, including former CEO Bharat Masrani, over the bank's anti-money laundering program. The lawsuit claims the bank falsely represented issues with the program from 2021 to 2024, prioritizing profits over compliance. In 2024, TD was hit with a US$3 billion fine by U.S. regulators for guilty pleas related to program failures.

These lapses allegedly led the bank's subsidiaries to become the first U.S. banks to plead guilty to money laundering conspiracy, resulting in a $30 billion drop in market capitalization for the company. The defendants dispute the allegations, and TD Bank has not commented on the lawsuit.