Senator Elizabeth Warren Urges DOJ Criminal Probe into Bank of America Over AML Violations
Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Department of Justice to launch a criminal investigation into Bank of America (BAC) and its executives following the bank's admission of willful violations of federal anti-money-laundering laws. The request follows a massive $1.2 billion settlement with Treasury regulators, which Warren characterized as merely a "slap on the wrist" that fails to deter future misconduct. The regulatory action revealed that Bank of America failed to report over $5 billion in suspicious transactions, including more than $1 billion linked to high-priority national security risks such as Chinese money-laundering networks. Regulators alleged the bank prioritized revenue over compliance and relied on external referrals rather than its own internal monitoring systems. Warren has requested a response from the DOJ by November 12 regarding potential criminal proceedings.