TD Bank has agreed to pay $3 billion in fines after pleading guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws. According to court documents, between 2014 and 2023, the bank’s AML policies and transaction monitoring controls had “long-term, pervasive, and systemic deficiencies,” which were not properly addressed despite multiple warnings from regulators and internal audits.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) reported that 92% of TD Bank’s total transaction volume—amounting to $18.3 trillion—went unmonitored between January 2018 and April 2024. Criminals were able to exploit this lack of oversight, with three money laundering networks collectively transferring more than $670 million through TD Bank accounts between 2019 and 2023. One network moved over $470 million through the bank, offering employees over $57,000 in gift cards as bribes to process illegal transactions.
Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the bank for making its services “convenient for criminals.” The DoJ stated that TD Bank’s transaction monitoring system remained ineffective, despite multiple warnings, and the bank failed to address concerns even while launching new services, such as the Zelle P2P platform.
The penalties include $1.8 billion payable to the U.S. Justice Department, with additional fines levied by banking regulators and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). TD Bank will also appoint an independent compliance monitor for three years.
Bharat Masrani, TD Bank’s CEO, acknowledged the bank’s failures and apologized, stating that corrective measures are being taken to improve compliance.