Bank Insiders Admit to Processing Hundreds of Millions in Drug-Linked Illicit Transactions

Two bank insiders have admitted to assisting a money laundering ring connected to illegal drug sales.

The pair helped power a money-laundering network by moving nearly half a billion dollars through accounts mainly in New York and New Jersey, says the U.S. Department of Justice.

One employee, Wilfredo Aquino, who worked as a TD Bank assistant store manager, processed over 1,600 official checks worth $92 million for the money laundering ring in exchange for gift cards valued at roughly $11,000. Aquino, who had pleaded guilty to charges of facilitating money laundering, was sentenced to 46 months in prison.

The other, Edward Low, also known as “Mang Wah Low” and “Eddie Low,” who worked as a TD Bank retail employee, accepted bribes totaling more than $26,000 and shared private customer details that enabled nearly $485,000 in fraud. Low, who had pleaded guilty in February, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors tied the operation to fentanyl trafficking and noted it prompted a wide probe into the bank’s monitoring lapses.

That investigation resulted in the lender agreeing to pay over $3 billion in penalties while facing limits on its U.S. retail assets.

The bank states that fixing its anti-money laundering systems remains its top focus and that it fully cooperated with authorities during the case.

Officials add that the institution has invested heavily in staff, training, procedures, and technology to strengthen those controls.

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