Money laundering continues to be a pressing concern for financial institutions and regulatory authorities around the world. In 2022, several high-profile cases resulted in some of the largest Anti-Money Laundering (AML) penalties ever recorded. From banking giants to casinos and cryptocurrency exchanges, these penalties demonstrate the increasing scrutiny and enforcement of AML regulations.
The 6 Largest AML Penalties of 2022
1. Danske Bank – $1.209 billion + DKK 4,749 + $178.6 million
$1.209 billion from the US Department of Justice for defrauding US banks about its Estonian branch AML program
DKK 4,749 million from the National Special Crime Unit (Denmark)
$178.6 million from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating anti-fraud rules
2. Credit Suisse - €238 million
€123 penalty to the Parquet National Financier (PNF)
€115 damages to the French state.
The bank reached a settlement "to resolve a legacy matter in relation to an investigation into historical cross-border private-banking services".
The French state found that 5,000 French nationals held accounts at Credit Suisse that hide €2 billion of undeclared funds between 2005 - 2012.
3. Santander UK GBP107.7 million (USD 💲132 million)
ineffective systems to adequately verify the information provided by customers about the business they would be doing
failed to properly monitor the initial amount declared by the customers with the actual turnover of the client.
4. USAA Bank $140m civil money penalty for:
willfully failed to implement and maintain an AML program that met the minimum requirements of the BSA from 2016 to 2021.
5. Star Entertainment AUS $100m (USD $62m) and suspension of license
For lacking appropriate controls for high-risk customers
Failing to appropriate conduct ongoing customer due diligence for years
Facilitating the movement of money in non-transparent ways making it vulnerable to criminal exploitation
6. National Bank of Pakistan $55m for AML violations:
Transaction monitoring system
Weak internal controls
Serious shortcomings in management oversight.
Additionally, in 2022 several penalties were imposed on crypto exchanges for similar AML violations. This includes as Bittrex $53million and Robinhood $30million.
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