Financial crimes

Tolstedt, a key figure in the bank's fake-accounts scandal, could face prison time after pleading guilty to a criminal charge of obstructing a bank examination. She also agreed to pay a $17 million fine to bank regulators to resolve certain civil charges.

The only way for Fincen to assure that banks have the tools to identify illicit shell companies is for the agency to verify the information in its new beneficial ownership database.

Toronto-Dominion Bank is on the hook for $1.2 after settling litigation over its connection to a massive Ponzi scheme, and Independent Bank Group in Texas agreed to pay $100 million. A third bank, HSBC, settled for a smaller amount.

Under the new policy, firms that come forward with misconduct before it becomes known to the public or prosecutors and then fully cooperate will receive "significant benefits" in any resulting deal, federal prosecutors in New York say.

In the aftermath of Louisiana's largest bank failure, Ashton Ryan Jr. was convicted on all 46 counts against him. U.S. Attorney Duane Evans called the case a "theft of epic proportions."

A judge said he would approve Deutsche Bank's $26.3 million settlement of a lawsuit that accused the bank of misleading investors about how thoroughly it vetted clients, including Jeffrey Epstein and Russian tycoons.

The company settled with the Federal Reserve after self-reporting that it had disbursed $1.1 million in wrongfully obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Authorities gained from Russian sanctions legislation helped law enforcement build the case against Hong Kong-based exchange.

Thieves have become adept at exploiting digital vulnerabilities, conducting heists that resulted in more than $3 billion in losses last year.

Burdensome regulations have decimated correspondent banking relationships, harming the most vulnerable in the U.S. and abroad.