{
  "id": 14342695,
  "title": "US hits BofA with $1.2 bn money laundering fine",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/us-hits-bofa-with-1-2-bn-money-laundering-fine",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-14T01:26:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times",
    "slug": "the-economic-times",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/us-hits-bank-of-america-with-1-2-billion-fine-says-it-violated-money-laundering-sanctions-laws/articleshow/134929677.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that it has imposed a fine of USD 1.2 billion on Bank of America for alleged violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. This fine ranks as the third-largest in the department's history. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, when a bank of Bank of America's size fails to comply with anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations, it poses significant risks to the entire US financial system by facilitating illicit finance.\n\nIn addition to the USD 1.2 billion fine, Bank of America also settled with the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control for USD 11.6 million over alleged violations of various sanctions programs, including those against Iran, Russia, narcotics, and global terrorism. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed the USD 1.2 billion penalty for Bank of America's failure to detect and report national security risks, including Chinese money laundering networks and illicit finance along the southwest border.\n\nA significant portion of the fine, USD 750 million, will be allocated to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which has imposed the largest fine ever to date. Bank of America admitted to willfully violating the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act, which mandates banks to assist the government in detecting and preventing money laundering. The bank stated that it has invested billions in technology and employed thousands of staff to combat financial crime and is committed to completing the required work.\n\nThis penalty marks the third-largest ever issued by the Treasury Department, following a USD 4 billion settlement with Binance in 2023 and a USD 3 billion settlement with Canadian bank TD Bank in the previous year. Both these substantial penalties were part of the Biden administration's focus on enhancing anti-money laundering measures and promoting compliance within the emerging virtual currency industry.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}