TD Bank execs behind illegal activities may now face prison time after several scandals have eroded the institution’s trust with the public.
On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that TD Bank has become the largest bank to plead guilty to money laundering charges, agreeing to pay a significant penalty of $3 billion distributed among various financial regulators.
While the size of the fine is notable, the case follows a familiar pattern in banking enforcement: no executives will face jail time, at least for now.
This trend of allowing banking executives to avoid criminal charges has persisted for decades, with one notable instance being the 2008 financial crisis, where only one mid-level Credit Suisse executive faced imprisonment.
While further charges may emerge, the resolution of the TD case highlights a stark contrast to the Justice Department’s approach to the crypto company Binance last year, which faced a $4 billion fine and criminal charges against its founder, resulting in a four-month prison sentence.
Legal experts have pointed out a perceived double standard when it comes to the prosecution of bankers involved in wrongdoing.
Vanderbilt law professor Yesha Yadav commented to Fortune via email, noting that bank executives have largely evaded jail time following the financial crisis, even when their institutions faced serious criminal liability.
“It should not be surprising that TD’s executives will escape personal criminal liability, despite the scale of rule-breaking at the bank,” she said.
A representative from TD Bank did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
However, a Justice Department spokesperson referenced Garland’s press conference, where he mentioned an ongoing investigation targeting individuals at TD and affirmed that the DOJ is “continuing aggressively.”
Garland indicated that more prosecutions are anticipated, though he did not specify if they would involve executives.
The plea agreement also alludes to the ongoing investigation.
The DOJ has shared court filings related to the enforcement action, which include charges against two TD Bank employees, although their identities have not been disclosed.
Despite operating as a regulated financial institution in the U.S., the crimes committed by TD Bank resemble those of Binance, such as failing to implement adequate money laundering controls and allowing vast sums of illicit funds to flow through its operations, including from international drug traffickers.
The DOJ reported that 92% of total transaction volume went unmonitored over nearly seven years, ending in April 2024.
In the plea agreement, prosecutors highlighted that the bank’s focus on growth over compliance, driven by senior executives, led to negligence.
“Binance wasn’t a regulated U.S. financial institution supported by the public,” Yadav pointed out.
“TD Bank had to intentionally break numerous banking regulations.”
The question remains: why are none of TD’s executives facing prison time?
This inquiry is especially pressing given that financiers have not always had immunity from prosecution.
In his 2017 book The Chickenshit Club, ProPublica journalist Jesse Eisinger recounts how federal prosecutors sought prison sentences for executives at the failed energy company Enron and its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, in the early 2000s.
Recently, however, various factors have made the Justice Department more hesitant to prosecute bankers, including a Supreme Court decision that overturned the Arthur Andersen convictions, the revolving door of DOJ lawyers moving to prestigious law firms, and an increased fear of losing cases among prosecutors.
(This last group has been labeled as being in the “chickenshit club,” a term coined by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who inspired Eisinger’s book title.)
While the DOJ did not announce charges against TD executives in the settlement, the investigation is ongoing.
Jay Shapiro, a Middlebury professor and former New York City prosecutor, told Fortune via email that it is premature to draw conclusions about the TD Bank case and potential individual prosecutions.
Separately, TD Bank has agreed to pay the SEC $20 million for illegal market manipulation.
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Also Read: TD Bank Is Now Fined $3 Billion For Failing to Monitor Illegal Cartel Money
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They should all be in jail, including Gensler and especially Kenneth Cordel Bedpost Griffin!
I think many would agree with that statement.
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