2024 has been a watershed year for regulatory enforcement, marked by a dramatic increase in global fines that reached an unparalleled $19.3bn.
According to data from the Corlytics database, the total enforcement amount stood at $19,288,397,217, reflecting the growing attention regulators are paying to financial crime, compliance failures, and governance breaches across the globe.
This year saw an especially high volume of enforcement actions in the third quarter, signalling the urgency of regulatory bodies in addressing corporate misconduct.
The cryptocurrency exchange FTX became the focal point of the largest enforcement action of 2024, with the firm ordered to pay a monumental $12.7bn in penalties. This sum is to be distributed to the victims of FTX’s fraudulent activities, marking the largest recovery in the history of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This historic penalty underlines the critical need for stronger governance and consumer protection mechanisms within the crypto industry.
TD Bank also faced significant regulatory scrutiny this year, with a cumulative $3bn fine imposed by multiple US regulators for anti-money laundering (AML) violations. Among these, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) levied a criminal fine of $1.7bn, while the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) imposed a $1.3bn penalty. These fines highlight the increasing importance of robust anti-money laundering practices within financial institutions, with the penalties reflecting the scale and severity of TD Bank’s compliance failures. In addition, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) also took significant actions against the bank, underlining the seriousness of the breaches.
“We saw an exceptional volume of enforcement activity in 2024, with regulators demonstrating a clear commitment to holding firms accountable for compliance failings,” said Corlytics Head of Legal and Regulatory Analysis Susie MacKenzie. “The record-breaking penalties imposed on FTX, TD Bank, alongside heightened scrutiny of financial crime controls, governance weaknesses and consumer protections, indicate that firms must become more proactive than ever in addressing regulatory risks. As regulators sharpen their focus on risk governance and compliance accountability, firms also must ensure they have robust controls in place to avoid enforcement actions leading to reputational and financial damage.”
The year also saw increased scrutiny of other sectors. Beyond AML enforcement, regulators around the world ramped up their focus on governance failures and consumer protection breaches. One notable example was the SEC’s action against Genesis Global Capital, which was fined $21m for failing to register its retail crypto lending product, highlighting ongoing issues in the crypto lending space.
Meanwhile, regulatory attention on neobanks intensified in the UK, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposing nearly £30m in fines on Starling Bank for its financial crime failings. This marked a turning point in the regulatory oversight of fintech challengers, with the sector facing increasing pressure to align with established financial crime prevention standards. Metro Bank faced similar penalties in quick succession, underscoring the rising expectations for neobanks to maintain robust compliance systems.
In another first, the FCA fined PwC for failing to report suspected fraud, a rare move that reflects the regulator’s heightened stance on governance issues. At the same time, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) made history with its first-ever greenwashing enforcement action, which led to an £11.3m penalty for Mercer Superannuation.
Recordkeeping failures continued to draw attention from regulators, particularly in the US, where the SEC and CFTC issued penalties for firms that failed to monitor off-channel communications, including encrypted messaging platforms used by employees. This issue highlights the need for financial institutions to strengthen their internal controls over communication channels to prevent misconduct.
Finally, deficiencies in compliance programmes and control failures played a significant role in the enforcement actions of 2024. Regulators worldwide have turned their focus to the effectiveness of controls within financial institutions. A major portion of the penalties imposed this year were tied to weaknesses in AML compliance programmes, including inadequate internal documentation such as policies, procedures, and controls.
To download the enforcement report, click here.
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