The Treasury Department said Tuesday that it is fining Bank of America $1.2 billion over alleged violations of money laundering prevention and sanctions laws. The action targets America’s second-largest bank and ranks among the largest penalties in Treasury history.
The department accused [1] Bank of America of failing to report and mitigate notable national security risks. Those risks included Chinese Money Laundering Networks and suspected “illicit finance along the southwest border.”
Treasury also said the bank failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious activity to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. That agency receives information intended to help the federal government identify financial activity that could be connected to criminal conduct.
The $1.2 billion fine is the third largest penalty in Treasury’s history, according to the department. Its size reflects the scope of the alleged compliance failures described in Tuesday’s announcement.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a blunt warning while announcing the action against the banking giant. He argued that failures at a financial institution of Bank of America’s size could create risks extending across the broader financial system.
“When a bank of this size fails to meet its anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations, the consequences extend far beyond its own walls, exposing the entire U.S. financial system to significant illicit finance risks,” Bessent said in a statement. “Today’s actions send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law.”
The department’s allegations focused on both money laundering controls and sanctions compliance. Treasury said the bank did not adequately report suspicious activity or address certain risks carrying potential national security implications.
Bank of America also reached an $11.6 million settlement with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The settlement concerned “apparent violations of numerous sanctions programs, including on Iran, Russia, narcotics, and global terrorism.”
The sanctions settlement adds another component to the federal action outlined Tuesday. The Office of Foreign Assets Control administers the sanctions programs cited by Treasury in describing the alleged violations.
Of the $1.2 billion penalty, $750 million will go to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Treasury said that amount represents the largest fine ever imposed by that agency.
The record penalty from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency forms the biggest specified portion of the overall fine. Treasury’s announcement placed it alongside the separate $11.6 million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The fine follows Bank of America’s alleged admission that it willfully violated the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act. That law requires banks to assist the government in detecting and preventing money laundering.
Treasury’s announcement therefore centered on obligations imposed directly on major financial institutions. The department alleged that Bank of America failed to satisfy those duties while billions of dollars in suspicious activity went unreported.
The department specifically connected the alleged failures to Chinese Money Laundering Networks and suspected illicit finance near the southwest border. Those concerns were presented as notable national security risks that the bank failed to report and mitigate.
Bessent’s statement emphasized that the consequences of such failures do not remain confined to a single bank. His message was equally clear about the government’s posture toward large institutions facing accusations of breaking financial laws.
The action combines a historic $1.2 billion penalty, more than $5 billion in allegedly unreported suspicious activity, and an additional sanctions settlement. For Bank of America, Treasury’s message was unmistakable: Size does not provide immunity from federal enforcement.