Bank of America stock fell as much as 9% on Wednesday, a day after the bank admitted willful money laundering control failures and agreed to pay $1.21 billion. Nobody was charged with a crime.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) served four months in a US prison over his exchange’s anti-money laundering (AML) failures. On Wednesday, the Binance executive highlighted this double standard.

What Bank of America Admitted and Why Shares Fell

According to the Treasury, the bank failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions on time. Over $1 billion involved national security risks, including suspected Chinese money laundering networks.

The release says the bank often relied on law enforcement inquiries to spot problems, rather than its own monitoring.

The penalty cut quarterly profit by 17 cents a share, as BeInCrypto flagged Tuesday. Even without it, adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share missed estimates, per TipRanks.

Meanwhile, CZ referred to deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs), deals where prosecutors drop charges if a company complies.

Why Did No One at Bank of America Face Charges?

The penalties came from three Treasury agencies. These are civil regulators, and they issue fines, not criminal charges.

Criminal cases come from the Justice Department. None of Tuesday’s Treasury announcements mention it.

That department changed course in 2025. A May 2025 Criminal Division memo widened the paths for companies to avoid prosecution if they self-report, cooperate, and fix problems.

Law firm Paul Weiss counted 21 corporate guilty pleas in 2025 and read the data as a slowdown. In 2013, then-Attorney General Eric Holder told senators that the size of some banks made them difficult to prosecute.

Why an HSBC Whistleblower Wants Bank of America Executives Charged

Everett Stern reported money laundering at HSBC while working there as a compliance officer in 2010. On Wednesday, he published an open letter on X to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Stern asked Bessent to refer Bank of America executives for criminal prosecution. He also urged an end to “too big to jail” and a review of the bank’s national charter.

HSBC settled its own case in December 2012. It admitted that at least $881 million in cartel drug money moved through its US arm, according to the Justice Department.

HSBC paid about $1.92 billion and signed a deferred prosecution agreement. Stern says no banker was charged, and that reporting the bank cost him his career.

“The fines are not working. A fine is paid by shareholders, absorbed by the balance sheet, and forgotten by the next earnings call.”

What Made the Binance Case Criminal

Binance never filed a single suspicious activity report with US authorities, according to Justice Department filings.

It also let Americans trade $898 million with users in Iran, breaching US sanctions. Prosecutors said CZ told staff it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.

Binance pleaded guilty and paid $4.3 billion. CZ got four months, though prosecutors sought three years. He has since called underestimating compliance his biggest Binance mistake.

Banks have faced criminal cases too. TD Bank pleaded guilty in 2024 after employees helped launderers move money. Prosecutors charged over two dozen people, including two bank insiders.

How US Enforcement Shifted Since CZ’s Sentence

In April 2025, the Justice Department told prosecutors to end “regulation by prosecution” of crypto platforms. It disbanded its national crypto enforcement team.

Six months later, President Donald Trump pardoned CZ. Bank of America now has to pay for an outside review to find suspicious transactions it missed.

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