08:00 PM EDT, 09/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- TD Bank is nearing a possible guilty plea to criminal charges that its U.S. retail bank failed to curb a rash of money laundering tied to Chinese crime groups and illicit fentanyl sales, people familiar with the matter said, The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend.

TD is in talks with U.S. federal prosecutors over the potential agreement, and its U.S. retail arm is expected to enter a plea in the next two weeks, the people said. No agreement has been finalized and it's possible the talks could falter, the report added.

Authorities have alleged that TD was reckless in failing to build and maintain systems that flagged and prevented money laundering, the people said. The Canadian parent company has already set aside more than $3 billion to cover the costs of resolving U.S. government investigations, the report noted.

The bank has said it is working to fix the problems authorities have flagged.

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