TD Bank Not Punished Enough for AML Failures, Senator Says

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told DOJ this week that she believes its recent settlement with TD Bank does not go far enough to hold the financial firm and its leaders accountable for their lax adherence to anti-money laundering laws.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Warren said that while the bank agreed to pay about $3.1 billion in penalties, the firm avoided losing its charter, and none of its top executives has been charged. She argued that TD Bank deserves steeper punishment for its “egregious” crimes, which enabled three money laundering networks to launder more than $670 million through the bank from 2019 to 2023.

“Until and unless those executives who presided over TD Bank’s institutionalized money laundering are held accountable, banks will continue to factor enforcement fines into the cost of doing business, rather than approaching compliance with our money laundering laws with the seriousness it requires,” Warren wrote. She asked DOJ to explain by Nov. 15 why the penalties against the bank do not go further.

In announcing the settlement Oct. 10, DOJ said it has charged "over two dozen individuals," including two “bank insiders,” in connection with money laundering at TD Bank and that its agreement with the bank “requires continued cooperation in ongoing investigations of individuals" (see 2410100048). The settlement also calls for TD Bank to undergo a multiyear independent monitorship to oversee an overhaul of its AML compliance program.