Bank of America ordered to pay historic $1.2 billion over alleged sanctions law violations

Bank of America was ordered Tuesday to pay $1.2 billion to the Treasury Department, which said it violated anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.

Bank of America ordered to pay historic $1.2 billion fine

The penalty is the third largest ever issued in Treasury history, the agency said. As part of that total, the bank was ordered to pay $750 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the largest fine it has ever levied.

“Today’s actions send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

As the second-largest bank in the country, Bank of America has more than 70 million clients and processes about $4.5 trillion in payments for individual customers every year.

In addition, the bank handles $450 trillion in payments for corporate customers, including payrolls, corporate credit cards and supplier payments.

The Treasury Department said Bank of America “admits that it willfully violated” the Bank Secrecy Act and “failed to maintain” an anti-money laundering program that met minimum requirements under the law. The bank also admitted having failed to file mandatory Suspicious Activity Reports.

“Bank of America failed to timely report to…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business