- FinCEN reveals TD Bank’s suspicious crypto trading activities with Customer Group C.
- TD Bank facilitated over $420 million to a bank offering crypto services in Columbia through Customer Group C.
- A concerning pattern in Customer Group C’s activities involved monthly wire transfers of more than $100M.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is investigating Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank), the sixth-largest bank in North America, for potential involvement in suspicious cryptocurrency trading activities. The investigation revealed TD Bank’s ties with an unknown entity called “ Customer Group C ” and its failure to disclose these activities.
This probe is part of a broader investigation that led to TD Bank receiving a $3 billion penalty for anti-money laundering (AML) failures. The US Department of Justice ( DOJ ) fined TD Bank $3.09 billion for failing to monitor a significant portion of its transactions, leaving 92% of its total transaction volume unchecked between January 1, 2018, and April 12, 2024.
The DOJ said the bank “deliberately chose not to monitor” these transactions and had “long-term, pervasive, and systemic deficiencies” in its AML policies and procedures.
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The DOJ’s investigation and subsequent penalty revealed the bank’s connection with two unknown cryptocurrency firms in Colombia and the United Kingdom. According to FinCEN, TD Bank sent over $420 million to a bank offering crypto services in Colombia, a high-risk jurisdiction, through Customer Group C.
FinCEN identified a concerning pattern in Customer Group C’s activities that involved monthly wire transfers of more than $100 million. These transfers facilitated third-party crypto trading with ties to high-risk sectors and countries such as Colombia, China, and the Middle East.
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From July 2023 to April 2024, Customer Group C’s transactions exceeded $1 billion. While 90% of the transactions were linked to an unnamed UK-based crypto exchange, 60% of the outflows went to an unnamed Colombian bank. FinCEN also identified the group’s association with an international crypto exchange. While the platform remains undisclosed, the agency stated that Customer Group C received over $650 million from the firm.
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