A bank should not be a drug cartel’s best friend

Law enforcement has the enormous task of preventing the scourge of illegal drugs from entering and spreading in the United States. From Border Patrol personnel seizing fentanyl at ports of entry to state, local and federal law enforcement officers and agents arresting smugglers and their opioid toxins, it is all hands on deck in the fight against drug trafficking.

Almost all hands.

As reported Thursday, TD Bank will pay $3 billion to settle allegations that it failed to properly police money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced.

The fine includes a $1.3 billion fine to be paid to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a record fine for a bank. According to CNN, TD also plans to pay $1.8 billion to the US Department of Justice and plead guilty to resolve the federal investigation that the bank violated the Bank Secrecy Act and permitted money laundering.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that TD Bank had “longstanding, widespread and systemic deficiencies” in its transaction monitoring procedures. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news on Wednesday.

“By making its services convenient for criminals, it has become one,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference Thursday.

Follow the Money plays an important role in detecting and stopping drug trafficking, and it is crucial that banks are involved.

More than 90% of transactions went unmonitored between January 2018 and April 2024, allowing “three money laundering networks to collectively transfer more than $670 million through TD Bank accounts,” according to a legal filing.

“I want to make clear that these systemic failures have not only created hypothetical vulnerabilities, but have actually resulted in material harm to American citizens and communities,” Assistant Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “Unlike its competitors, TD Bank has consistently prioritized growth and profits over compliance. The bank made the drug trade possible.”

The collective fines of three billion dollars are not sufficient punishment given the harm caused by allowing human traffickers to ply their trade.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Coin said TD processed hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions, clearly indicating highly suspicious activity. And they missed it or ignored it.

“This is a difficult chapter in our bank’s history,” TD Bank CEO Bharat Masrani said in a statement. “These errors arose under my watch as CEO and I apologize to all our stakeholders.”

Are these also people who struggle with addiction or have lost loved ones to an overdose?

An apology is not enough. The fines are high, but they won’t break the bank. TD said it has sufficient liquidity to pay the fine and continue operations.

Senator Elizabeth Warren said: “Major banks view government fines as a cost of doing business,” she said in a statement. “This settlement absolves bad bank managers from using TD Bank as a criminal slush fund. ”

It’s not just about getting caught and paying a fine. It’s not about making excuses and manipulating finances to cushion the financial blow. People die, families are destroyed and communities suffer when illegal drugs end up on the streets.

Heads must roll.