TD Bank Fined $3 Billion for Looking the Other Way on Money Laundering
In a groundbreaking case, TD Bank and its parent company were hit with $3 billion in total fines for failing to monitor money laundering by drug cartels and other criminal organizations through the bank.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that TD Bank pleaded guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, becoming the largest bank in U.S. history to do so. It also became the first ever U.S. bank to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
That includes the $1.8 billion fine to resolve criminal charges, and $1.2 billion in other fines.
“TD Bank created an environment that allowed financial crime to flourish. By making its services convenient for criminals, it became one,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a press conference announcing the fines. “Let me be clear: our investigation continues, and no individual involved in TD Bank’s illegal conduct is off limits.”
A Nearly Decade-Long Lapse
Prosecutors say that between January 2014 and October 2023, TD Bank executives failed to remedy “long-term, pervasive and systemic deficiencies” in its anti-money laundering (AML) policies, procedures, and controls, and instead focused on controlling costs. Those deficiencies made the bank an “easy target” for financial crimes.
Court documents say the bank intentionally failed to monitor some 92 percent of all transaction volume from January 2018 to April 2024. That includes failing to monitor transactions involving high-risk countries and allowing more than $5 billion in transactional activity to occur in accounts that were closed.
Due to these lapses, prosecutors say three money laundering networks were able to collectively transfer more than $670 million through the bank, with scheme operators providing gift cards to employees to keep the illegal transactions going. TD employees also did not make the proper notifications about suspicious transactions.
In another scheme, a high-risk jewelry business moved nearly $120 million through shell accounts before TD Bank reported the activity. And in another example, money laundering networks deposited funds in the U.S. and quickly withdrew those funds using ATMs in Colombia, with five TD Bank employees conspiring with this network.
“Time and time again, TD Bank failed to meet its obligations — day after day, year after year. The problems were so widespread — so pervasive — that it was only a matter of time before the bank’s own employees could exploit these failures and engage in money laundering themselves. And that’s exactly what happened,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Over two dozen individuals are charged over the schemes, including two bank insiders. TD Bank’s plea agreement requires continued cooperation in the ongoing investigation.
The investigation was led by IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG), and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the District of New Jersey.
