What are the potential civil penalties for violating the Bank Secrecy Act?

By its terms, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) provides for a maximum civil penalty of either $25,000 or the amount of the transaction up to $100,000. The BSA further provides, however, that the maximum penalties increase each year for inflation. As of January 2025, the maximum penalties had increased to either $71,545 or the amount of the transaction up to $286,184.

The government can assess a separate penalty for each violation. The BSA provides that a defective antimoney-laundering (AML) program results in a separate violation for “each day” it continues and at “each office” where it occurs. Each required report a financial institution fails to file can also be treated as a separate violation.

BSA penalties can add up quickly. If a financial institution has a defective AML program at 10 branches for 100 days, and that defective program causes it to miss 100 suspicious activity reports, then it faces a maximum potential penalty of $67.5 million for its AML program and a separate penalty of up to $6.75 million (or $27 million, depending on the value of the transactions) for the missed reports.

Criminal violations of the BSA give rise to even higher penalties, and also potential imprisonment. Whether those higher penalties are appropriate depends on whether the defendant meets the standard for criminal “willfulness.” The government has discretion to impose both civil and criminal penalties in response to a BSA violation.

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