M&T Must Forfeit Drug Cash for Failing to File Reports

M&T Bank Corp., whose takeover of Hudson City Bancorp Inc. has been stalled by regulators for almost two years because of lax internal controls, was ordered to forfeit $560,000 that a teller laundered for a drug gang.

U.S. District Judge James Bredar in Baltimore yesterday accepted the government’s claim in a February complaint that the teller converted proceeds of illegal drug sales from small denominations to $100 bills in at least eight transactions, ranging from $20,000 to $100,000, without notifying regulators. Banks are required by law to report any movement of cash in excess of $10,000.