Miami-Based Ocean Bank Agrees To Pay Government $10.9 Million
MIAMI (AP) - Florida's largest private state-chartered bank has agreed to pay $10.9 million to the U.S. as part of a deferred prosecution agreement involving drug money laundering.
Federal prosecutors said Monday that Miami-based Ocean Bank failed to establish an anti-money laundering program. Investigators say they uncovered millions of dollars in suspicious transactions from Mexican drug cartels. The cartels used Mexican currency exchange houses.
Court documents say Ocean Bank failed to report these suspicious transactions as required. Ocean Bank agreed in court papers that it failed to adequately comply with money laundering rules.
The charges will be dismissed after two years if Ocean Bank takes a certain compliance steps. The bank says it is committed to having an effective program to combat money laundering and has already taken many of those steps.
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