A former TD Bank employee, Leonardo Ayala, 24, was arrested for his alleged role in a massive money-laundering scheme linked to drug cartels. The US government had previously fined the bank $3 billion for failing to monitor transactions effectively.
Ayala worked at a Florida branch and began using his position to launder funds for the cartels starting in June 2023. He allegedly opened fake accounts, issued debit cards, and received bribes in exchange. The scheme allowed three money laundering networks to transfer over $670 million through TD Bank accounts.
The investigation revealed that millions of dollars were laundered to Colombia through accounts Ayala serviced. A single shell account was used to move over $500,000 to Colombia via ATM withdrawals.
Ayala appeared in Miami federal court and was released on location monitoring and a $100,000 bond. The US attorney’s office warned that money laundering conspiracy charges carry up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 or twice the amount laundered.
TD Bank CEO Bharat Masrani apologized for the failures, stating that they took steps to ramp up surveillance efforts and hire over 700 new specialists. The bank will be subject to four years of monitoring by the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/11/business/former-florida-td-bank-employee-arrested-cartel-money-laundering/index.html