TD Bank has agreed to pay $3 billion to settle charges that it failed to monitor money laundering activities by drug cartels, according to regulators. The settlement includes a $1.3 billion penalty to the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and $1.8 billion to the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The bank also pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, allowing extensive money laundering.
According to the DoJ, TD Bank’s monitoring procedures had “systemic deficiencies” that allowed three money laundering networks to move over $670 million through its accounts. This settlement comes as part of ongoing efforts by US authorities to prevent drug cartels from exploiting the financial system to launder proceeds from the sale of drugs like fentanyl.
TD Bank CEO Bharat Masrani apologized for the failures and announced that the bank would be implementing new processes and hiring over 700 specialists to strengthen its anti-money laundering efforts. As part of the agreement, TD Bank will be monitored by FinCEN for four years and face growth restrictions in the US market, similar to previous penalties placed on Wells Fargo for consumer abuses.
