Bank of America’s Investment Services Inc. was fined USD3 million by NASD for failing to obtain customer information for 34 high-risk accounts that involved trusts and private investment corporations domiciled in the Isle of Man, all of which were affiliated with one family.
The bank was also fined for not filling out a suspicious activity report and failing to tell its parent bank about the information.
The accounts held between USD79 million and USD93 million in assets and involved multimillion dollar wire transfers across international borders, according to NASD.
Between August 2003 and October 2005, Bank of America did not require the names of the owners and did not restrict activities in the accounts. During the same period the bank had anti-money laundering procedures that required additional information from the accountholders before conducting large transactions in the accounts.
The Bank of America did not admit nor deny any wrongdoing, but agreed to settle the charges.