Warren Statement on Bank of America Fine for Violations of Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Laws

"Real accountability would mean imposing an asset cap and restrictions on shareholder dividends and stock buybacks and conducting a criminal investigation into the apparent violation of our anti-money laundering laws."

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee released the following statement:

"Bank of America failed to implement an effective anti-money laundering program for years, allowing Chinese crime syndicates and other illicit actors to move billions in suspicious transactions through our financial system. The Biden Administration failed to hold Bank of America accountable in 2024, and now, the Trump Administration is letting Bank of America off the hook with a slap-on-the-wrist fine that represents a small fraction of the $30 billion in profits the bank made last year alone. Real accountability would mean imposing an asset cap and restrictions on shareholder dividends and stock buybacks and conducting a criminal investigation into the apparent violation of our anti-money laundering laws. CEO Brian Moynihan should also have to answer to Congress on why bank executives repeatedly turned a blind eye to money laundering, despite warnings from their compliance staff and even after regulators ordered Bank of America to shore up deficiencies in 2024. Like I've long said, slap-on-the-wrist fines have become the cost of doing business on Wall Street and are no deterrent. Big banks should be subject to structural punishments, and their executives should be held personally accountable when they break the law."

Warren has long called on big bank executives to be held accountable when they break the law.

• In 2024, Warren pressed the Department of Justice on its decision not to hold any of TD Bank's executives accountable for overseeing a criminally deficient anti-money laundering compliance program.
• In 2019, Warren introduced legislation to hold executives of large corporations criminally responsible when their companies commit crimes, harm large numbers of Americans through civil violations, or repeatedly violate federal law.
• In 2016, Senator Warren called for Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf to face a criminal investigation after the bank opened up millions of fake customer accounts.
• In 2013, Warren pushed for HSBC bankers to be investigated and personally held accountable for the bank's violation of anti-money laundering laws.

Warren has also repeatedly warned that the Trump Administration's gutting of the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act is making it easier for Chinese money laundering networks and other criminals to move billions through our financial system.

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