US Fines American Express $350 Million in Money Laundering Case

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced a $350 million civil money penalty and a cease-and-desist order against American Express National Bank for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering program.

The OCC stated that the bank allowed approximately $13 billion in suspicious activity to pass through between 2014 and 2025, and ordered an independent lookback review to identify transactions that were not detected during that period.

Simultaneously, the Federal Reserve Board issued a separate coordinated order requiring the bank's parent companies to address deficiencies in combating financial crimes, meaning the action is not limited to the subsidiary bank but extends to the parent group.

This measure concerns the banking sector in general and those dealing with cards and transfers, as it raises the standard of compliance for monitoring suspicious transactions and serves as a reminder to institutions that deficiencies in detection systems can result in hundreds of millions in fines.

What Do These Terms Mean?

Cease-and-Desist Order: A regulatory order requiring an institution to stop a non-compliant practice and rectify its status, remaining in effect until the regulatory body verifies compliance.

Civil Money Penalty: A financial penalty imposed by a regulatory authority on an institution without criminal prosecution, paid for violating rules.

Bank Secrecy Act (BSA): A U.S. law requiring banks to report suspicious transactions and keep customer records to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

Lookback Review: An independent examination of past transactions over a specified period to detect any suspicious activity missed by monitoring systems at the time.