https://www.pymnts.com/aml/2024/report-td-bank-in-talks-about-money-laundering-plea/

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.

And as PYMNTS wrote earlier this summer, these actions come amid increasing scrutiny of AML practices at financial companies.

“And where these firms, banks and FinTechs among them, are deemed to come up short, there’s a (literal) price to pay,” that report said. “In the meantime, the very rules governing AML and fraud-fighting efforts may change, as a commentary period is ongoing as regulators seek input on the use of advanced technologies to sharpen fraud defenses at financial institutions.”

Meanwhile, the bank announced earlier this month that President and CEO Bharat Masrani will retire in April of next year, with Raymond Chun, currently group head, Canadian personal banking, set to take his place.

“The anti-money-laundering challenges we face took place on my watch as CEO and I take full responsibility,” Masrani said in a statement announcing his retirement. “In the coming months, I will continue to advance and direct the critical remediation program required to meet our obligations and responsibilities and strengthen our risk and control foundation.”

The executive had led the bank for more than a decade, and been with TD for close to 40 years. He will continue to serve as an adviser to the bank until Oct. 31, 2025.