{
  "id": 14297617,
  "title": "Bank of America fined $1.2bn over claimed sanctions breaches",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/bank-of-america-fined-1-2bn-over-claimed-sanctions-breaches",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-13T21:18:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/banking/2026/10/13/bank-of-america-fined-12bn-over-claimed-sanctions-breaches/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Treasury Department has imposed a substantial fine of over $1.2 billion on Bank of America for alleged breaches of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, marking it as the third-largest fine in its history. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also settled with the bank for $11.6 million following 475 sanctions violations, primarily targeting Russia, Belarus, Iran, Burma, Somalia, narcotics, and global terrorism.\n\nBank of America, the second-largest bank in the US, processes a staggering $4.5 trillion in payments for its 70 million clients annually, including over $450 trillion in employee payrolls, supplier payments, and corporate credit cards. In addition, the bank handles an average of $1.9 trillion in wire transfers daily for clients worldwide.\n\nTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that when a bank of Bank of America's size fails to adhere to its anti-money-laundering and sanctions obligations, it endangers the entire US financial system by exposing it to significant illicit finance risks. The bank knowingly violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions, with over $1 billion implicating national security risks, likely originating from Chinese money laundering networks, fraud, and other activities with ties to the southwestern border.\n\nThe Office of the Comprotroller of the Currency had previously issued a cease-and-desist order against Bank of America in 2024 due to deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act and compliance programs. The bank's inadequate response to these issues is deemed unacceptable, according to Jonathan Gould, Comproller of the Currency. This fine follows a recent action taken by the OCC against American Express, which was fined $350 million for allowing about $13 billion in suspected money laundering to go undetected for over a decade. Bank of America is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.",
  "summary": "Bank of America was ordered to pay more than $1.2 billion in fines after the Treasury Department said the company breached anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, the agency said on Tuesday. The Treasury Department said the fine is the third-largest in its history. Bank of America was also ordered to pay $750 million to the Office of the Comprotroller of the Currency, the largest ever issued by…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Live: Bank of America fined $US1.2 billion for anti-money laundering failures",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/live-bank-of-america-fined-us1-2-billion-for-anti-money-laundering",
        "published": "2026-10-13T21:13:09.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News (US)",
        "title": "US hits Bank of America with $1.2 billion fine, saying it violated money laundering, sanctions laws",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/us-hits-bank-of-america-with-1-2-billion-fine-saying-it-violated",
        "published": "2026-10-13T21:17:53.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "Bank of America fined $1.2bn over claimed sanctions breaches",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/bank-of-america-fined-1-2bn-over-claimed-sanctions-breaches-14299702",
        "published": "2026-10-13T21:18:53.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}