TD Bank Slapped With $1.3 Billion Fine Over Drug Cartel Money Laundering

TD Bank will pay $3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced, Jordan Valinsky and Matt Egan reported for CNN.

More than 90% of transactions went unmonitored between January 2018 and April 2024, which “enabled three money laundering networks to collectively transfer more than $670 million through TD Bank accounts.” I Photo: Mike Mozart Flickr

The fine includes a $1.3 billion penalty that will be paid to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a record fine for a bank.

TD also intends to pay $1.8 billion to the U.S. Justice Department and plead guilty to resolve the U.S. government’s investigation, which found that the bank violated the Bank Secrecy Act and allowed money laundering.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that TD Bank had “long-term, pervasive, and systemic deficiencies” in its procedures for monitoring transactions.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news late Wednesday. “By making its services convenient for criminals, it became one,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland at a recent press conference.

More than 90% of transactions went unmonitored between January 2018 and April 2024, which “enabled three money laundering networks to collectively transfer more than $670 million through TD Bank accounts,” according to a legal filing, Sean Lyngaas and Hannah Rabinowitz also reported for CNN.