Senator Elizabeth Warren has formally requested that the Justice Department initiate a criminal investigation into Bank of America after the bank acknowledged willful violations of federal anti-money-laundering laws.
This request follows the imposition of over $1.2 billion in penalties on October 13, which Warren criticized as inadequate, referring to them as a 'slap on the wrist.' In her letter, she highlighted that the bank's documented violations enabled illicit actors to transfer billions through the U.S. financial system.
The bank's failures included not reporting over $5 billion in suspicious transactions in a timely manner, with significant amounts linked to national security risks and money-laundering networks. Despite the bank's claims of investing billions in compliance improvements, Warren argues that civil penalties are insufficient and that criminal charges should be considered.
The bank is already under a cease-and-desist order due to ongoing deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering controls, and regulators have noted that it has not made adequate progress in addressing these issues