On October 13, 2026, the Treasury announced enforcement actions imposing more than $1.21 billion in penalties against Bank of America for violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The actions include a $1.2 billion penalty from FinCEN, a $750 million penalty from the OCC, and an $11.6 million settlement with the OFAC.
Key findings include:
Failure to report suspicious activity: FinCEN found that the bank failed to timely report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions, including over $1 billion involving national security and other priority illicit finance risks.
Deficient BSA/AML program: The OCC found that the bank’s transaction monitoring system failed to properly monitor trillions of dollars in transactions, resulting in numerous late SAR filings. Other deficiencies included inadequate staff training, ineffective audits, and failure to address longstanding compliance weaknesses, even after a December 2024 cease-and-desist order.
Sanctions violations: OFAC identified 475 apparent violations involving sanctions programs targeting Russia, Belarus, Iran, Burma, Somalia, narcotics trafficking, and global terrorism. The violations included payments routed through blocked banks, transactions involving designated individuals, and weaknesses in sanctions screening.
As part of the enforcement actions, Bank of America must review previously undetected suspicious transactions, undergo independent assessments of key AML controls, and strengthen its sanctions compliance practices.
Read the Treasury’s press release here.