US fines Bank of America over $1.21 billion

The US Treasury Department reported that Bank of America, the country's second largest bank, was fined over $1.21 billion for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.

In the statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that the decision against Bank of America included the third largest fine in the history of the Treasury Department and the largest fine in the history of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

In the statement, it was stated that a fine of over 1.21 billion dollars was imposed on Bank of America due to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, and it was stated that the Financial Crimes Prevention Network (FinCEN) took action due to the deficiencies in the bank's compliance program, on the grounds that the bank did not fulfill its obligations to reduce illegal financing risks and report suspicious transactions, which are priorities for national security.

In the statement, it was noted that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) made a $11.6 million settlement agreement with the bank for violations of numerous sanctions programs, including those related to Iran, Russia, drug trafficking and global terrorism.

Failed to timely report "suspicious transactions" worth more than $5 billion

It was stated in FinCEN's investigation that Bank of America did not timely report "suspicious transactions" worth more than $5 billion, and that over $1 billion of this was linked to national security and other priority illegal financing risks.

In the statement, it was stated that the transactions in question included activities indicating China-based money laundering networks, fraud, and possible trade-based money laundering transactions related to the southwestern border of the United States.

In the OCC's evaluation, it was emphasized that Bank of America's transaction monitoring system failed to properly monitor trillions of dollars of transactions, and that this resulted in a large number of delayed suspicious transaction reports covering billions of dollars of transactions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose evaluations were included in the statement, underlined that when a bank of this size does not prevent money laundering and does not fulfill its sanction obligations, the consequences go beyond the bank's own borders and expose the entire US financial system to serious illegal financing risks.

"The actions taken today send a clear message that even the largest financial institutions are not above the law," Bessent said. he said.