Bank of America Fined $3 Million for AML Violations on Wyly Accounts

The investment services arm of Bank of America has agreed to pay a $3 million fine to the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), settling accusations that the bank failed to comply with its own anti-money laundering (AML) standards in its handling of a number of offshore accounts linked to the Wyly brothers. In a January 29, 2007 news release, the NASD found that the bank “failed to obtain required additional customer information for high risk accounts” and “fundamentally failed to meets its obligations … in the face of repeated requests for additional information about the account holders from its own clearing firm.” The settlement did not require Bank of America to admit wrongdoing ... [more]