TD Bank is the 10th largest bank in the country – but was the No. 1 choice for a while. Criminal organizations According to federal prosecutors, drug money laundering.
The bank’s $3 billion plea deal shocked the financial world but a US senator slammed the Justice Department for “ludicrous legal gymnastics” that she says were too lenient on executives. .
Over the years, the bank prioritized maximizing its profits without investing in the necessary safeguards to prevent cartels and other organized crime groups from using its systems for money laundering, costing crooks $671 million. allowed secret transfers of which should have been reported to the authorities. With the help of corrupt bank employees, according to the plea agreement.
“By facilitating its services for criminals, TD Bank became one,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters when announcing the bank’s criminal plea in October.
Chinese money launderers team up with Mexican cartels to threaten us, officials warn Congress
TD Waterhouse Bank in New York City on April 18, 2018. (iStock)
“TD Bank became the largest bank in U.S. history to plead guilty to Bank Secrecy Act program failures, and the first U.S. bank in history to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering,” he added. ” “TD Bank chose profit over compliance – a decision that is now costing the bank billions of dollars in fines.”
At the time, he said the investigation was ongoing and warned that more charges could be forthcoming.
Another case involved an acknowledged international money launderer, 45-year-old Da Yingzhi New Yorkbribed bank employees with nearly $60,000 in gift cards. He pleaded guilty at his own trial to a conspiracy that laundered $653 million on behalf of criminals in the United States, China and Hong Kong.
Some of it was drug money. And $470 million went through TD Bank, according to federal prosecutors.
Read Charging Document:
For nearly a decade – between January 2014 and October 2023 – the bank failed to comply with mandatory anti-money laundering regulations that required it to flag suspicious transactions, according to court documents. Instead of updating their systems to keep up with emerging technology, bank officials saved money by leaving an outdated anti-money laundering program in place.
According to federal prosecutors, the anti-money laundering program was known to executives and was so ineffective that employees mocked it.
“These failures, among other things, enabled the three money laundering networks to launder more than $600 million in criminal proceeds through the bank between 2019 and 2023,” federal prosecutors wrote in court documents. “These failures also created vulnerabilities that allowed five Bankstore employees to open and maintain accounts for one of the money laundering networks.”
Opinion: Chinese illegal border crossings up 7,000% Only China knows why
These five corrupt employees helped criminal organizations launder $39 million in Colombia through nearly 200,000 ATM withdrawals.
Even with massive corporate fines and an “asset cap” that severely restricts the bank, Sen. Elizabeth WarrenD-Mass., blasted the Justice Department for “legal gymnastics” that let top officials off the hook.
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice on September 24, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“The way DOJ has structured the plea agreement ensures that TD Bank will not face the full range of penalties that Congress has enacted for banks involved in criminal money laundering,” he said. wrote in a public letter to Garland.
“These shocking failures enabled three separate money laundering syndicates to launder more than $670 million through the bank between 2019 and 2023,” he continued. “The magnitude of the dollar value of these illegal transactions is only dwarfed by the appearance of criminal activity.”
According to authorities, the criminal organizations collectively laundered more than $670 million, and total fines were set at $3 billion.
He argued that without consequences for executives, banks could spend billions of dollars in government fines as business expenses in the future.
The bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
TD Bank Group President and CEO Bharat Masrani speaks during the bank’s annual meeting of shareholders on March 30, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. (Reuters/Peter Power)
Bharat Masrani, the bank’s CEO, told The Associated Press that steps are being taken to address deficiencies and root out corruption after the bank was found guilty last month.
Click here to get the Fox News app.
“We know what the problems are, we are fixing them,” he said. “As we move forward, we’re making sure this never happens again, and I’m 100% confident we’ll come out the other side stronger.”
To tackle the problem of money laundering, The bank says He began a multi-year security boost that included hiring dozens of new leaders and hundreds of experts in preventing money laundering and fighting financial crime.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.