Bloomberg reports allegations of Florida branch worker accepting bribes
A new story has emerged suggesting that an investigation has begun into bribery claims by a major Canadian bank.
Bloomberg reports that a former branch banker in Hollywood, Florida accepted several bribes of $200 to move money to Columbia while bypassing anti-money-laundering procedures. He is accused of falsifying documents to open accounts and provide concierge-like services to facilitate the movement of funds across borders.
A separate case involves a New York branch employee accused of defrauded a client by bypassing the bank’s compliance measures.
The media firm says that are part of a probe by the US Justice Department and that the matters relate to TD, although the cases “haven’t yet been reported and don’t identify Toronto-Dominion by name.” The Justice Department has declined to comment.
A spokesperson for TD told Wealth Professional: "TD, like all financial institutions, works with law enforcement to identify, stop and support the prosecution of criminals. When we became aware of these matters, we took action against these employees, coordinated efforts with the DOJ, and have supported their work to bring these criminals to justice. More broadly, where our program was ineffective, we have held those leaders accountable and are taking action to drive the changes and meet our obligations."
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that TD fired more than a dozen staff as a result of the failings to effectively monitor detect, report and respond to suspicious activity which have led to probes by the U.S. Department of Justice and three regulators.
Bloomberg’s report says that the former worker in Florida at the centre of the fresh allegations is one of the twelve dismissed by TD.
In its recent earnings report, TD stated:
“The Bank has been cooperating with U.S. regulators and authorities in good faith for many months and is working diligently to bring these investigations to resolution so that investors can have more clarity. A comprehensive overhaul of TD's U.S. AML program is well underway and will strengthen our program globally.”
And CEO Bharat Masrani has vowed to address the compliance issues identified in its extensive U.S. banking business which has more than 1200 branches across America. And he has acknowledged that there will be pain along the way.
“This is going to get tougher before it gets better. More information is going to drip out over the next little while,” he told a gathering of employees in May. “We have the means to fix this and we will.”
