The US Treasury Department has fined Bank of America over $1.21 billion for widespread failures in its anti-money laundering (AML) protocols and for violating international sanctions.

The penalties stem from enforcement actions by three regulatory bodies:

Regulators issued a $1.2 billion penalty—which includes a record $750 million fine from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)—after discovering the bank failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions. Because Bank of America effectively outsourced its proactive detection duties to third parties, it missed critical national security threats, including Chinese money laundering operations and illicit finance at the US southwest border.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control reached an $11.6 million settlement with the bank over 475 apparent violations of US sanctions, involving transactions connected to Russia, Iran, narcotics, and global terrorism.

In response to the historic enforcement action, Bank of America acknowledged the regulatory failures, stating it is investing billions of dollars in technology and dedicating thousands of employees to overhaul its compliance and detection systems.