TD Bank is reportedly close to a possible plea related to its anti-money laundering measures.
The Canadian bank is in discussions with U.S. prosecutors over the agreement, stemming from criminal charges that its American arm failed to prevent money laundering, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday (Sept. 27).
The plea could come in the next two weeks, the report said, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Those sources say authorities accuse the bank of recklessness in failing to establish proper anti-money laundering measures.
The report noted that the U.S. Justice Department began investigating TD’s money laundering controls after learning that a criminal Chinese operation had laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in narcotics sales through the bank’s branches in New York and New Jersey and bribed TD employees.
PYMNTS has contacted TD for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.
TD released quarterly earnings last month that showed a $2.6 billion provision related to a possible investigation into its anti-money laundering (AML) program. This came after a $450 million provision announced by the bank during the previous quarter.
The bank has said that it is working on a “remediation” of its AML program in light of the federal investigation. Earlier this year, the bank fired more than a dozen workers, bringing criminal charges and disciplinary action against some of them.
From: PYMNTS –> Full article
