Bank of America allegedly failed to properly report more than $5 billion in suspicious financial transactions, including activity potentially connected to Chinese money laundering networks and narcotics trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to federal regulators who announced a $1.2 billion penalty against the banking giant on Tuesday.
The U.S. Treasury Department said more than $1 billion of the suspicious transactions involved priority illicit finance and "national security risks," including "potential trade-based money laundering with a substantial nexus to the southwest border." Regulators did not establish that all the transactions involved criminal proceeds or identify specific Mexican cartels as recipients of the funds. The bank's stock plummeted on Wednesday, falling almost 7.5% at 11:19 a.m. ET. Its quarterly results were also impacted by the fine.
