US FinCEN Accuses TD Bank of Failing to Report $3B in Crypto Money Laundering

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has accused TD Bank of failing to report suspicious activities related to a $3 billion cryptocurrency money laundering case. The laundering was conducted using international crypto transactions by a group of anonymous customers.

FinCEN has alleged that for nine months, TD Bank processed more than 2,000 transactions from a company “Customer Group C” which engages in sales of financial and real estate industry operations.

Customer Group C falsely reported its planned international wire transfer activities to TD Bank, claiming its annual sales would not exceed $1 million, while actually conducting over $1 billion in transactions through the bank.

FinCEN has also revealed that 90% of Customer Group C’s funds came from a UK-based crypto exchange, and 60% of the funds were transferred to financial organizations in Colombia that offer digital assets services. During its onboarding with TD Bank, Customer Group C did not identify Colombia as one of the jurisdictions it would work in and later engaged with “high-risk industries and firms” in both China and the Middle East.

FinCEN noted that even though TD Bank had written policies in place for transactions involving digital assets, there is no proof “any enhanced controls were ever applied to Customer Group C’s extensive transactions with virtual asset service providers.”

Furthermore, on October 10, FinCEN imposed a $1.3 billion penalty on TD Bank and a four-year monitorship against it for the same violations.

Also Read: Why $390 Billion in Bank Fines Show Crypto Isn’t the Problem